Ramstein IS History
Opened: 1997
OPEN
Ramstein Intermediate School was originally part of Ramstein Elementary School. The school was split for the 1997-98 school year, and the newly formed Ramstein Intermediate School had grades four through six with an enrollment of about 650 students. Ramstein Intermediate School is located on Ramstein Air Base, in proximity to Ramstein Elementary and Ramstein Middle Schools. The school serves the military and DoD dependents of the Ramstein community and is part of a bigger complex of schools within the German city of Kaiserslautern.
The school colors are Royal Blue and White and the school mascot is “Spots Jaguar”. The school motto is “Where learning puts you in great spots”. The school spirit cheer is
We are the Jaguars of R.I.S.
No one can beat us—we are the best!
We are creative and respectful, too!
Learning with pride is what we do!
J-A-G-U-A-R-S
That's the way we spell success!
The first school principal was Judith Mayo, who was in this position for three years. Leslie Dunkle was the assistant principal the first year followed by Dr. Venita Stovall who served three years. From the first year, Ramstein Intermediate School had a strong musical program, and the performing group was called “Songsations”. In the nineties the school had several clubs, including the drama club and yearbook. Yearly events included the Colonial Fayre, Science Fair, Odyssey of the Mind, Spelling Bee, Geography Bee, and Math Olympiads. From 2000–2003 the school only had fourth and fifth grades. For the 2003-04 school year the third grade was added, and the school has remained a three through five school.
Throughout the years, students have participated in many study trips to various cities and events in Germany. Some of these were:
- Bad Dürkheim – Pfalzmuseum fiir Naturkunde (a natural history museum)
- Burg Berwartstein (a castle close to Pirmasens)
- Burg Maus - Greifvogelschau (a castle featuring a bird of prey aviary)
- Idar-Oberstein – Steinkaulenberg (a gem mine), Edelsteinmuseum (a gem museum), Felsenkirche (a church built in a rock feature towering above the city)
- Kaiserslautern – Barbarossaburg (a.k.a. Barbarossa Castle), Stadtfiihrung (city tour)
- Koblenz (Bendorf-Sayn) – Garten der Schmetterlinge (butterfly gardens)
- Kusel – Burg Lichtenberg (a castle), Pfalzmuseum fiir Naturkunde (a natural history museum), Musikantenlandmuseum (a musician museum), Geoskop
- Mainz – Gutenberg Museum (an art of book printing museum)
- Neunkirchen am Potzberg – Wildlife Park Potzberg
- Speyer – Auto- und Technik Museum (an automobile and technology museum)
- Trier – Porta Nigra (“Black Gate”, a Roman-built city gate), Roman baths, and amphitheater
- Wachenheim – Hochwildpark (a wildlife park)
- Zweibriicken – Schlittschuhbahn (an ice skating rink)
- Frankfurt – Senckenberg Museum (a dinosaur musueum)
- Neu-Anspach – Hessenpark (an open air museum)
- Baden-Württemberg
- Bad Wimpfen, Burg Guttenberg (castle) – Greifvogelschau (birds of prey show)
- Heidelberg – Schloss (a castle)
- Mannheim – Planetarium, Luisenpark
- Sinsheim – Auto und Technik Museum (an automobile and technology museum)
- Bexbach – Grubenmuseum (a mining museum)
- Homburg – Schlossberghöhlen (caves), Schwarzenacker (Roman excavation)
Daniel Osgood became the principal for the 2000-01 school year, followed by Bonnie Bowen-Hannan for the 2004-05 year. Stanley Caldwell became the principal for the 2007-08 school year and remained at the school until 2012-13. The assistant principals during these years were Mr. Meyer, Jodi Black, David Dinges, and Marian Sutton.
The school’s enrollment was over 900 students by the 2004-05 school year, and there were three administrators for the first time. There were over eighty faculty and staff.
Several new programs/activities for students were added in the 2000s. These included Kids 4 Kids, a program to support students whose parents were deployed; cultural celebrations, Dr. Suess’ Birthday and Read-A-Thon. During the 2009-10 school year, the students participated in their first crane projects, where students made origami cranes that were used to decorate the Wounded Warrior Center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. In February of that year, the school was visited by two NASA astronauts.
In the 2010s, the enrollment began with 830 students, reached a high of 1,000 students for the 2015-16 school year, and finished the decade with 860 students. Jennifer Remoy was the principal for the 2011-12 school year followed by Marion Sutton (2014–2015) and Mary Salerno (2016–2019). The assistant principals included Marion Sutton (2010–2012), Caryn Currie (2012–2013), Deidre Mx Alpin (2014–2021), and Patricia Cameron-John(2018–2024).
Student activities in the 2010s included new clubs for kaleidoscopes, guitar, backgammon, chess, crafty kids, Lego Robotics, and Mathletics. New schoolwide activities were Peace Pals, a meditation group; an anti-bullying program; Red Ribbon Week; and STEM nights. The FLES—Foreign Language of Elementary Students—provided Spanish instruction to students. Students presented the daily announcement through the Jaguar News Program. Students who read more than a million words were recognized as belonging to the Millionaire Clubs, which had several different levels.
Mr. Dysinger, a fifth-grade teacher, was recognized as the Kaiserslautern Teacher of the Year during the 2015-16 school year. Ms. St. Jean received the 2021 Dr. Linda Curtis Educator of Promise Award.
Ms. Caryn Currie became the principal for the 2019-20 school year had remained in this position through the 2024-25 school year. Her assistants included Patricia Cameron-John, Deidre McAlpin, Richard Dye (2021–2022) and Dr. Shara Conway (2023–2025).
Currently there are 750 students in grades three through five and over ninety staff members comprised of teachers, a support specialist, instructional specialists, counselors, a school psychologist, and administrators.
Technology and information services are readily available to staff and students, and learning beyond the classroom is encouraged. A diverse enrichment program is enhanced with after-school clubs and many activities and presentations.
Information from school website and school yearbooks