Worms ES History
Opened: 1954
Closed: 1999
Worms American Elementary School consisted of a main building and a small annex one-quarter mile away. In the 1981-82 school year, the annex housed two sixth grade classrooms. The main school building was completed in the early fifties and had ten classrooms plus five temporary rooms attached. The school also had a multipurpose room.
The school mascot was the dragon, and the school colors were red and gold.
The principal for the 1954-55 school year was Hugh Brady, and there were 202 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade.
In 1979, Paul Papineau became the principal and oversaw the construction of a new addition to the school. He was the principal for the school for ten years and retired in January 1991.
The staff for the 1981-82 school year included a music resource educator, reading improvement specialist, learning development teacher, a speech therapist, and two host nation teachers. There were eighteen teachers on the faculty and 400 students enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade. Two-thirds of the pupils came from the Thomas Jefferson Village housing where the school was located. The remaining students lived on the German economy or at remote housing areas. Students in grades seven through twelve attended Mannheim Middle School or Mannheim High School, a thirty-minute drive by bus from the housing area.
In 1986, a library and a multipurpose room with a cafeteria were added to the building.
For the 1987-88 school year, there were 400 students in grades kindergarten through six. Most of the specialists for the school provided services to one or two other schools in the area.
Frank Roehl became the principal in January 1991 and was followed by Mr. Ragland.
By 1993-94, the enrollment had dropped to about 300 students. The following school year Worms became a kindergarten through five school when the sixth graders were moved to Mannheim Middle School.
In the nineties, students were involved in many school activities and special programs. Students presented the daily announcements through Station WES. The school had authors and artists-in-residence and special holiday annual events. They also sponsored a yearly “Hooked on Books” event and participated in district and regional programs such as the annual Spelling Bee, Geography Bee, and Odyssey of the Mind.
The last principal for the school was Dr. Terry Emerson, and the enrollment for the 1997-98 school year was only 130 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The school was closed the next year.
Information from DoDDS School Information Guides, AOSHS archives, school yearbooks and internet resources