Hohenfels MS/HS History
Opened: 1995
OPEN
Hohenfels Middle/High School first opened its doors in the fall of 1995. Prior to that time, high school students went to school at Nurnberg High School. But with the closure of the Nurnberg facility, it was determined that Hohenfels would have its first high school. The first student body consisted of 146 students in grades seven through twelve. The school was in four buildings near the elementary school. As the school continued to grow, the Department of Defense decided to build new facilities for the high school. The groundbreaking ceremony for this facility took place on September 21, 2001, and construction on the ten-million-dollar facility was begun.
The keys to the new facility were turned over to the principal, Maureen Bellenger, on August 28, 2003, and the first students entered the building. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on September 26, 2003. The school colors are black and blue, and the mascot is the Tiger.
In the years since its opening, the students of Hohenfels Middle/High School have achieved many great successes. Approximately 90% of graduates have gone on to attend a four- or two-year college. These graduates have annually received an average of $800 to $1,000 in individual scholarships.
The AJROTC has distinguished itself with eleven cadets receiving academy appointments and twenty-six cadets receiving four-year scholarships. In national recognition, two cadets have won the Voice of Democracy European Contest, and one cadet won the Cadet Command Essay Contes for having the best essay out of 10,000 entries nationwide. The unit has also been an “Honor Unit with Distinction” every year since the opening of the school.
The Hohenfels School Fine Arts Department has witnessed the many accomplishments of alumni and current artists. In 2010, student artists were invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Washington, D.C. where their work was exhibited as part of the Department of Education and Military Child Education Coalition celebration. That same year a freshman art student was so inspired by the Fine Arts that he took on the task of establishing a Celebration of the Arts to connect with the spouses’ club craft fair for his Eagle Scout project and established the Schwartz Fine Arts Foundation, which still aids in keeping the arts alive at Hohenfels Middle/High School. Also, in 2010 and 2011, student artists partnered with the Deutsch-American Partnership Club, and their work was exhibited at Kaiserslautern Christmas Market.
The 2012-13 school year witnessed Hohenfels Middle/High School’s first chapter of the National Art Honor Society. Many of the members and alumni have represented Hohenfels at Creative Connections and had their work published in Showcase and Illuminations online gallery. In the spring of 2013, our artists proudly exhibited their “Life Space” Collection at the Hohenfels Health Clinic.
Fourteen band students have been invited to the All-Europe Honor Band, and one was selected to travel to the states and participate in a Regional Band Directors program.
In the area of science, fourteen students were selected to present their original scientific work at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and two of these were selected to attend the National Symposium in the United States.
In sports, Hohenfels Middle/High School also found success. The school has had the following European Championship Teams – four in football, three in rifle, three in track, two in soccer, one in cross-country, one in wrestling and one in basketball. In addition, the school had thirteen individual track champions and ten individual wrestling champions.
The principal for the 2022-23 school year was Lauri Kenny, and the assistant principal was William Bragg.
Information from the school’s official webpage