Wagner HS History
Opened: 1962
Closed: 1991
Wagner High School had previously been Wurtsmith High School. The school opened for the 1962-63 school year. The building was a cement block structure built in 1961 with open hallways. The facility consisted of forty-five classrooms, a gymnasium, media center, office areas, and staff lounge. Some facilities were shared with Wagner Middle School.
The second year it was renamed a junior/senior high and had a principal for each level. For the 1965-66 school year, the school now had grades nine through twelve and the junior high students were in a separate building, Wagner Junior High. In 1967 members of the high school student council, their advisors, and the principal visited Philippine President and Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos. A 45-minute question and answer session was held with the President and his wife. Later the same day, 120 seniors joined the school group for an evening session at the House of Representatives.
In the fall of 1969, due to a base enrollment of nearly 8,000 students, double sessions were in effect for grades 4–12. Nearly 1,400 students were enrolled at the high school.
The 1970-71 Student Government Association raised $850 to build a pavilion between the high school and junior high school for the high school students. At this time, Wagner students were also given the opportunity to choose from many innovative mini courses to allow for greater student achievement. The newspaper, the Falcon Crier, was given special permission to publish despite martial law that closed all major presses nationwide.
In February 1973, Wagner students were part of a historical event, the release of POWs from North Vietnam. Students worked as “stringers” for news agencies and were given the opportunity to cover the return of the POWs as members of the press.
The school newspaper, the Falcon Crier, reported the active involvement of high school students in Operation Baby Lift in the April 11, 1975 edition. During this operation, plane loads of Vietnam orphans stopped over at Clark.
For the 1981-82 school year, there were forty-nine educators, and the school staff included a counselor, psychologist, special educators, reading improvement specialist, English as a Second Language teacher, host nation teacher, and media specialist. By the late eighties the enrollment had risen to 725 students.
The school closed in 1991.
Information from DoDDS School Information Guides and DoDDS-Pacific Region 1946-1986