Vilseck HS History
Opened: 1976
OPEN
Mascot: The Falcon
School Colors: Maroon/Gold
School Newspaper: The Falconian
Yearbook: The Talon
Vilseck High School is located in Vilseck, Germany, a small town in the Oberpfalz region of northeastern Bavaria, Germany. The school, situated on Rose Barracks, opened in 1976 as a middle/high school. In 2008, Netzaberg Middle School opened and all of the middle school students were relocated. Vilseck then became a grade 9–12 high school. The school experienced its largest student enrollment in 2010, with over 600 students. Vilseck school enrollment was heavily dependent upon the dependent children from the Grafenwoehr and Amberg communities.
As a result of the large drawdown of military forces in Europe, the school in the 1992-93 school year experienced an influx of additional teachers. To accommodate the added staff, six additional classrooms were constructed. Two portable buildings were in place by mid-October. In early November of 1992, the newly constructed school building was operational. That same year the school moved from the Nuremberg School District to the Wuerzburg District. In 2007 the school underwent major construction that expanded its footprint.
Some early school clubs were the Student Council, TIPP (Teens Influencing Peers Proactively), ICS (International Communications Simulations) Auto Club, Model United Nations, Math Counts, Drama Club, Computer Club, National Honor Society, FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), and the Intercultural Club.
Throughout its history, Vilseck High School students planned and participated in numerous educational, social, and community activities:
- In the 1986-87, Vilseck High School sponsored its first Speech Festival in which over 100 DoDDS students participated, the Drama Club performed an Easter play for elementary school children, and the student club TIPP visited several elementary schools impressing upon students why they should not use drugs, drink alcohol or smoke.
- In the 1987-88 school year, the school entered a partnership with students from the Pegnitz Gymnasium. The partnership resulted from a meeting between Mr. Zacharias, principal of the school, and Herr Herbert Scherer, School Meister of Pegnitz. Later, as part of a special get-acquainted project by the Student Council, eight students at each school exchanged pen pal letters and phone calls. On 4 February, the pen pals formally met at the Gymnasium. A long-lasting relationship was begun between the two schools.
- In the 1988-89 school year, the school began publication of the Falconian, the school newspaper.
- The Student Council was very active during the 1988-89 school year, hosting a back-to-school dance, sponsoring the homecoming spirit week activities, and proposing an amendment to the school dress code that permitted students to wear shorts to school.
- In the 1992-93 school year, the school received its first student teacher.
- In the 1993-94 school year, the school hosted the DoDDS-Germany 21st Annual Academic Games.
- In the 2002-03 school year the National Honor Society and the Junior Honor Society, as part of their community service project, held clothes drives for refugees in Amberg and for a children’s orphanage in Czechoslovakia.
Vilseck High School, like most schools, evolved over the years through the changing of administrators, new academic programs, student clubs, and sport teams. One new academic offering was Model United Nations. During its initial year participating students represented Saudi Arabia and the League of Arab States. In preparation for the trip to the Hague, they were provided a visit to the Arabian Embassy in Bonn. Other academic offerings included AVID and World History Literature. Marksmanship, Drill, Fall Cheer, Golf, Softball, and Girls’ Soccer were among the new sports teams. Student Clubs such as Student 2 Student, Robotics, Academic Games, United States Senate and Multicultural, and International Thespian Society were added.
| Early school administrators included: | Later administrators included: |
|---|---|
Principals: Mr. Andrew Zacharias Ms. Helen Ducey Dr. Archie Bates Mr. David Witte | Principals: Robert Nicholson Marc Villareal |
Assistant Principals Mr. Gilbert Fernandes Ms. Linda Connelly Ms. Ofelia Robles Mr. Douglas McEnery Mr. Thomas Starratt | Assistant Principals: Shawn Rodman |
The enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is approximately 500 students served by sixty-five full time professional staff members. The school’s administrators are Dr. Michelle L. Jones, principal and Mr. Gary Cummings, assistant principal.