Darmstadt ES (formerly ES/JH, combined ES/MS in 2006) History
Opened: 1946
Closed: 2008
Darmstadt American Elementary/Junior High School was originally referred to as Darmstadt American Dependent School and Darmstadt American School. The Darmstadt Dependent School was one of the original schools opened in Germany after World War II. The main school building, The Lincoln Village School, was located in the housing area of Lincoln Village. The school opened in 1946. Grades one through nine were part of the original school, with high school students bused to Frankfurt.
In 1954, there were 556 students in the school, and the principal was Robert J. Riley. Construction on the new, main school began in 1955. By 1980, there were twenty-two classrooms, a gymnasium/auditorium, Education Resource center, learning development and reading improvement rooms, and offices in the main school facility. Adjacent to the main building was a Quonset for Industrial Arts and a Modulux with six classrooms. The annex building on the Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne housed the kindergarten, first, and second grades. The building in which the annex school was located was a converted barracks with military offices on the first and fourth floors. The play area for this school was very limited. By the 1981-82 school year there were three buildings housing Darmstadt American School. These were the Cambrai Annex for primary grades, Lincoln Village for elementary, and the junior high school. For the 1983-84 school year, Darmstadt American School was divided into two different schools, an elementary and a middle. A new elementary facility was completed and occupied during the 1986-87 school year.
The school mascot was the Dragon. The school yearbook was called Reflections and the school newspaper was the Dragon Gazette. The yearbook’s name was changed to the Dragon’s Lair for the 1987-88 school year. Student activities included chorus, band, student council, and the Goethe Chapter of National Junior Honor Society.
Dr. Robert Plattenberg became the principal in 1967 and remained in this position until the end of the 1991-92 school year. He had several different assistants during his tenure including Mr. Frederick Norris (1969–1987), Mr. Roland Dansereau (1969–1970), Ms. Sue Kraebber (1976–1981), Dr. Bridge (1981–?), Mrs. Joyce Hendrick (1987–1995), and Education Program Managers Sandy Daniels (1989–1991) and Theresa Schreck (1991–1993).
For the 1969-70 school year there were over 1,150 students enrolled with about 250 in grades seven through nine. The enrollment remained around 1,000 until the school was split into two schools.
A unique activity for the 1969-70 school year was The Forum. This was a marketplace of ideas, and all junior high students, as well as members of the faculty and staff of the Darmstadt American School were invited to attend and participate whenever the subject proved of interest. The forum met every Thursday at noon. Other school activities included study trips on the local economy, an annual ski trip, school clubs, and intermural sports for the middle school. The middle school had teams for basketball, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, and wrestling. Bowling was added as a coed intramural program in the mid-seventies. Clubs included the Darmstadt Dragonettes, a dance/drill team; drama; science; and stamp as well as a performing band and chorus.
For the 1975-76 school year the school received new curtains, new sidewalks, and new fences. All of these upgrades were done by a community school improvement project. The school also now had a primary annex.
In 1981-82, the schools staff consisted of a principal, two assistant principals, forty-one classroom teachers, an administrative assistant, two counselors, reading improvement specialist, learning development teacher, speech therapist, an Educational Resource Center, three host nation teachers, a school nurse, and clerks. The enrollment for the school was 1,100 students. Most of the sports programs for the students were provided through coordinated programs with the Dependent Youth Activities (DYA).
By the 1989-90 school year, the elementary school had thirty classrooms and three prefabricated buildings with six classrooms. The annex was no longer in use. The school enrollment in grades kindergarten through five was 940 students. At this time, most of the students walked to school, and nearly all remained at the school for lunch.
A preschool was added to the elementary school in the early nineties. The school enrollment dropped due to the military drawdown in Europe to about 500 students for the 1993-94 school year when the school became a Pre-K through five school. Ms. Sherry Templeton was the principal from 1992–1994, and she was followed by Ms. Gaski.
Dr. Russ Claus was the principal from 2004 until the school’s closing in 2008. His assistant was Laura Elgin (2005–2008). Enrollment remained at about 500 students. New activities at the school included the visiting Star Lab, Read Across America, Young Authors, and special activities to help students cope with their parents’ deployments.
The elementary school and middle school were combined for the 2007-08 school year, and the school closed in 2008.
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