Spangdahlem MS History
Opened: 1990
OPEN
The original Spangdahlem Middle School, constructed in 1990, had sixteen regular classrooms, three science labs, and specially designed and equipped classrooms for music, art, home ecology, technology education, photography, and computers. The school had a stage, media center, cafeteria/multipurpose room, and gymnasium.
The school mascot is the Bulldog, and the school motto is Bulldogs BITE: Break through barriers, Imagine a better tomorrow, Take care of our community, and Empower each other. The school colors are red and black.
For the 1993-94 school year, there were two administrators, thirty teachers, and eight support personnel. There were 482 students enrolled in grades five through eight. Keric Ashley was the first principal, and Bill Harlan was the assistant principal. Extracurricular activities at the school included clubs for art enrichment, drama, Russian studies, home economics, and drama. Other school activities were band, chorus, yearbook, newspaper, Math Counts, Math Olympiads, student council, and Teen Involvement.
The school had special services in the areas of counseling, health, learning development, reading improvement, and host nation studies. The next school year, 1991-92, there were 405 students in grades five through eight. The school’s enrollment dropped to 350 students for the 1995-96 school year and continued to drop to only 250 students by the first year of the millennium. Additional curricular and extracurricular programs for the nineties included business enterprises, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Future Business Leaders of American, National Junior Honor Society, Odyssey of the Mind, and Brain Bowl. The school had a mentor program that included sixty military members.
Dr. Elizabeth Childs became the principal for the 2001-02 school year and continued in this position through the 2007-08 school year. During the 2000s students attended Hinterbrand Lodge, performed in the school’s Jazz Band, participated in Read Across American and Red Ribbon Week, and had the first multi-cultural club. In the 2001-02 school year, fifth grade students began the tradition of creating “Big Books” that they read to second grade students at Spangdalem Elementary School. A special program initiated by Dr. Childs was Shadow Day where students learned about different base jobs by shadowing a parent or mentor.
The principal for the 2012-13 school year was Dave Borg, and the assistant principal was Christina Young. Student enrollment reached 280 students for the 2014-15 school year. That same year the school began a partnership with Service Credit Union to teach middle school students the benefits and problems of personal finance. Each year the program culminated with a CU4 Reality Fair. The German II students were engaged in a pen pal activity where letters and texts were exchanged with students at the St. Willibrord Gymnasium in Bitburg. New school programs included Students 2 Students and the Junior Leadership Seminar.
For the 2016-17 school year, the fifth graders returned to the elementary school and the middle school had grades six through eight. New activities in the 2010s included the Civil Air Patrol, a robotics club, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) club. Gregory Ball was the principal for the 2016-17 school year, and Regina Florence was the principal for the 2019–2022 school years.
The original building for Spangdahlem Middle School served the community for more than thirty years. In January 2020, Spangdahlem Middle School moved into its 21st Century building.
The school colors and mascot were determined by the students. One eighth grade student was an avid fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, and with his influence, the school became the Spangdahlem Bulldogs, and the school colors are red and black.
School Accomplishments:
- The Spangdahlem community takes part bi-annually in Spangdahlem Middle School’s student-led interactive STEM night. STEM night is held in the fall and spring and incorporates the military community with active participation from Saber Nation.
- For the 2012-13 school year, the Spangdahlem Math Counts team was the Kaiserslautern District Champions.
- The Math Counts team won the European Championship for the 2016-17 school year.
- In 2018, Spangdahlem Middle School was the only DoDEA school to receive the designation of “Green Ribbon School” awarded by the US Department of Education. The school was honored for its innovative efforts to reduce the environmental impact and utility costs, improve health and wellness, and ensure effective sustainability education.
- In 2019, team No Name from Spangdahlem Middle School placed ninth overall in the DoDEA-Europe FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics European Championship. A total of 174 teams from thirty-six schools across seven countries competed.
- In 2019, the school’s eighth grade students surpassed their peers with district and nationwide scores on the PSAT.
- The new 21st Century learning facility is a model of the future of learning for DoDEA and worldwide.
- School year 2020-21 – The school started an eighth-grade pilot program for Air Force JROTC, in coordination with Spangdahlem High School. Students received high school credit for the program.
- Jennifer Mench was selected as the Europe West Teacher of the Year.
For the 2022-23 school year, there were 172 students in grades six through eight, and the principal was Dr. Anneliese Hyde. Stephanie Adams became principal for the 2023-24 school year and the enrollment was 182 students in grades six through eight.
Information from DoDEA School Information Guides, school yearbooks and the DoDEA website