Bamberg ES History
Opened: 1946
Closed: 2014
Bamberg American Elementary School was part of the Bamberg military community that had three schools: one high school and two elementary schools. Bamberg American Dependent School, the original name of the school, was one of the first schools in Germany after the war. The school opened in 1946 and was part of the Erlangen district, which had a student enrollment of 115 students in fourteen locations. The original school served students in grades one through eight. By the 1953-54 school year, the school population had increased to 299 students, and the school principal was James Laster.
At the beginning of the eighties the schools were relatively new. Two schools were located adjacent to the post in the Flynn Housing Area, and the third was located in Strullendorf, about ten minutes from Bamberg. The Bamberg military post and housing area were located in the northeastern edge of the city of Bamberg, Germany.
For the 1981-82 school year, Bamberg Elementary School was housed in the newest building of the three schools serving the community. The school served children in grades kindergarten through six living in the Flynn Housing Area. The faculty and staff numbered about twenty-five and there were 550 students enrolled. Specialists at the school included learning development, reading improvement specialists, speech therapist, health education, media specialist, music, art, and physical education and counselors. The specialists were shared with Strullendorf American Elementary School.
In 1984, eight classrooms were added, and sixteen more were added in 1987. For the 1987-88 school year, the student enrollment was almost 800 students with a faculty and staff of over forty.
By the 1993-94 school year, Bamberg Elementary School was located in a new building. Due to the military drawdown in Europe, the school enrollment had dropped to 500 students in grades K–5 for the 1992-93 school year. That year the sixth graders attended school at Bamberg Middle/High School. The elementary faculty staff was less than thirty. The sixth grade returned to the elementary school for the 1994-95 school year, and the enrollment increased to 680 students in grades K–6. The high school staff provided specialists to the elementary school for art, music, host nation, physical education and enrichment. Local field trips included visits to the pumpkin patch; the Bamberg Christmas Market; the cave in Pottenstein, Gelchberg Castle; the Bamberg fossil museum; and the Bamberg Theatre.
John Rhyne was the principal beginning in the early eighties and remained at the school for over a decade.
The school was closed after the 2013-14 school year.