Wetzel ES History
Opened: 1975
Closed: 2014
Wetzel Elementary School was also referred to as Baumholder Elementary School #2. The school was located at Walter C. Wetzel Kaserne at the edge of the city of Baumholder.
The school was opened in 1975. The facility included eighteen classrooms, an art room, a multi-purpose room, media center, learning development room, reading improvement and compensatory education room, a health room, supply room, a counselor’s office, a host nation classroom, and a teacher’s lounge. An annex building included six additional regular classrooms.
By the 1981-82 school year there were about 580 students enrolled in grades kindergarten through six. That year the staff consisted of two administrators, two kindergarten teachers, twenty elementary classroom teachers, specialists in art, media, reading improvement, learning development, counseling, speech therapy, compensatory education, host nation culture, and a nurse. The total staff size including educators and support personnel was forty-three persons.
Wetzel Elementary School was expanded in 1985, and by the 1987-88 school year the school served approximately 525 students in grades kindergarten through six. The students lived in the Faulenberg and Pfadsbach housing area of Baumholder. The school now consisted of the main building and the new section. Kindergarten through third grade, some specialists, and the business office were located in the original building, while fourth through sixth grade classes and the remaining specialists were located in the new facility. In the 1987-88 school year, there were thirty-five professional staff, paraprofessionals, five clerical personnel, two administrators, and twenty-two classroom teachers at the school. Itinerant personal who provided services to Wetzel were a talented and gifted program coordinator, a social worker, and a psychologist.
In the mid-nineties, the enrollment had decreased to about 500 students.
Ms. Helen Hughes-Balilo, principal of Wetzel from 2005, was selected as the 2010 DoDEA National Distinguished Principal.
The school was closed in 2014, however, in early 2023 construction began on a new 21st century school in the Wetzel Housing area. The new school opening is tentatively scheduled for summer 2027.
Construction information from Svan, Jennifer H. (2024, May). Start of construction on new Baumholder elementary spurs show of jubilation. Stars and Stripes. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2024-05-29/new-baumholder-elementary-begins-14016619.html