Heilbronn ES/JHS History
Opened: 1953
Closed: 1992
Heilbronn American Elementary/Junior High School was on the south side of Heilbronn. The city is approximately twenty-five miles north of Stuttgart and thirty miles southeast of Heidelberg. The elementary/junior high school was in the John F. Kennedy village, which was next to Wharton Barracks.
The school was a purposely designed and built facility. The main school, which consisted of twenty-seven classrooms, a library, teachers’ lounge, supply room, and several offices, was constructed in 1953. The gymnasium with a large stage was added in 1955. A five-room junior high complex with a science lab was built in 1977. Most classrooms were large, and some had adjacent storage rooms or closets. The school had a large playground equipped with new equipment for the 1981-82 school year. The junior high had a large, grassy playing field adjacent to the elementary playground. Construction on two elementary classroom wings was completed in early 1989. Even with this construction, some classrooms were in other areas away from the main building. A new media center and a cafeteria were being constructed in 1990.
The principal for the 1954-55 school year was Evelin M. Smith, and there were 407 students in grades one through eight.
In 1981-82, there were 800 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and forty teachers. Resources educators included art, music, physical education, host nation, and foreign language. Supplementary personnel for the school were a counselor, nurse, reading improvement specialist, speech therapist, English as a second language teacher, learning development specialist, and a self-contained educable handicapped specialist. The school had a full-time media specialist. The school had a talented and gifted program conducted by three teachers. The school received additional services from a psychologist and a social worker who visited the school on a regular basis. High school students attended school in Stuttgart.
The principal for the 1982-83 school year was Janice Barber, and the assistant principal was Reuben Avesian.
The school published its first yearbook for the 1980-81 school year. The parent teacher association sponsored the yearbook. The school newspaper was called The Good Knight News and was published by students. Intermural sports were conducted by the school, and students also participated in Dependent Youth Activities programs such as football, cheerleading, basketball, and volleyball. The school had three student councils: primary, intermediate, and junior high. There were safety patrols and a drama club.
By the 1989-90 school year, the enrollment had increased to 850 students. The staff now included two counselors, a full-time talented and gifted teacher, two learning development specialists, and a compensatory education specialist.
he school closed at the end of the 1992 school year.