Saalfelden ES History
Opened: 1953
Closed: 1955
Saalfelden Elementary School was a small school that ranged in enrollment from approximately fifty to eighty students in grades K–8. Margaret B. Bernard was the principal for the 1952-53 school year and taught grades three through eight.
Celi Caravente taught a combination first-second grade, and Ester Strong taught kindergarten. The yearbook described the school setting as,
…pleasantly situated in a locality which is a skier’s paradise in winter and an outdoor man’s delight the rest of the year. Although it has less than nine thousand inhabitants today, Saalfelden possesses a long and rather tormented history. As early as 788, mention of “Salavelden” was made. The familiar Holzkreuz reminds the visitor of the horrible toll taken by the plague of 1764. Two devasting fires during the next half-century well-nigh destroyed the town. Fortune has been kind, however, in favorably situating Saalfelden — to the east, is Aim; to the south, Zell am See; to the west, Innsbruck; and, to the north, Salzburg. The year 1875 brought the railroad and with it, increased population, and prosperity. Familiar landmarks in four remaining castles testify to the former wealth of Saalfelden and thriving factories and thrifty inhabitants to its promising future…
In the 1953-54 school year, the teaching principal was Ruth McComb, and there were two other teachers, one for kindergarten and the other for the upper grades. The seventh and eighth grades were taught by the principal. The kindergarten had fifteen students, the first-second combo class had sixteen students, and the third through eighth grades combination class had twenty-seven students including three eighth graders.
The military provided health services including dentistry to the school. They also provided school supply services. At Saalfelden, the military also provided instruction in physical education.
Mr. Paul DeWahl was the teacher/principal for the 1954-55 school year. There were a total of five faculty and staff for the school. There were twenty-three students in grades five through eight, twenty-one in grades two through four, twenty-two first graders, and eleven kindergarteners.
The school was closed in 1955.
Information from yearbooks in the AOSHS archives and yearbooks