Daegu ES (formerly part of Daegu (Taegu) American School) History
Opened: 1959
OPEN
Daegu (Taegu) Elementary School was opened in 1959. It was originally Taegu American School and then Daegu American School and served grades K–12. Originally, the elementary and high school at Daegu were located in the same building. The elementary school, which enrolled about 300 students for the 1981-82 school year, was located on Camp Walker, an Army housing area situated at the foot of Mt. Apsan Park. The school had twelve classrooms, a multipurpose room, small gymnasium, library, and playground. The staff included eleven classroom teachers augmented with specialists in Korean culture, library, music, art, physical education, a counselor, and a PPS (Pupil Personnel Services) team for exceptional children. The staff also included an administrator, secretary, two local national employees, and two paraprofessionals.
The high school was built as an extension of the elementary school in 1974. The first facility was composed of six separate buildings, which housed general classrooms and provided areas for industrial arts, home economics, business, art, music, supply, and administrative offices. The gymnasium was shared with the elementary school. For the 1981-82 school year, there were nine full time teachers; six specialists, most of whom were shared with the elementary school; and 160 pupils.
A new K–12 school opened in December 1983. The elementary wing of the new school contained ten classrooms, while the high school and other support facilities were located adjacent to the elementary school.
The high school–elementary school complex was located at Camp George, adjacent to a housing area. Students were bused from Camp Walker, from RGH*, and from the economy. The K–6 school was located in a wing of the complex that also included a gymnasium, media center, administrative offices, specialist rooms, home economics laboratory, and a cafeteria with a stage area that served as the music classroom. The new “unit school” concept started in September 1983. For the 1987-88 school year, there were eleven classroom teachers for the high school students and twelve classroom teachers for the elementary pupils.
A comprehensive extracurricular program included yearbook; newspaper; varsity and junior varsity sports—soccer, girls’ and boys’ basketball, girls’ and boys’ tennis, girls’ volleyball, and wrestling; drama; National Honor Society; student council; cheerleading; and other programs according to student interest.
By the 1989-90 school year, there were 440 students in the elementary school and 235 in the high school. By the mid-nineties, the enrollment was 350 for the elementary school and 200 for the high school.
Laura Eisinger was the principal for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. The assistant principals were Chang Yu and Nedra Jones. The school mascot was the dragon, and the school colors were green and yellow. For the 2015-16 school year the principal was Jesus Calderon. The assistant principal was Mark Sanford and a second assistant, David Ballesteros-Burkett, was added the next school year. During these years the school enrollment fluctuated between 525 to 650 students.
In addition to the normal extracurricular activities, students at Daegu were offered clubs for guitar, Tae Kwon Do, Lego Masters, Robotics and Minecraft Education as well as after school tutoring by community members. The school had an annual Fall Festival, Dr. Suess Night, Storybook Parade, and art shows.
The school in Daegu was called Daegu American School until the 2017-18 school year when the sixth through eighth grade moved to the high school. The two schools were then named Daegu Elementary School and Daegu Middle/High School.
The current school services students from PSCD (Preschool Services for Children with Disabilities) and Sure Start to fifth grade. The elementary program—kindergarten through grade five—operates in self-contained classrooms with specialists available in music, art, Korean culture, physical education, and Spanish. Daegu Elementary School is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges, the largest school accrediting agency in the United States. Specialists in learning disabilities, speech therapy, English as a Second Language, and reading are available to students in Pre-K–5 who require additional services.
Dr. Kyong Beach was the principal for the 2023-24 school year and there were 360 students enrolled in prekindergarten, Sure Start, kindergarten, and grades one through five.
Information based on DoDDS School Information Guides, school yearbooks and internet sources
* This is presumably a local housing area. It’s referred to in our sources, but we don’t have any information on what this acronym stands for.