A.T. Mahan ES (formerly Iceland ES) History
Opened: 1951
Closed: 2006
The A.T. Mahan Elementary School was located at the U. S. Naval Station, Keflavik, Iceland. This NATO base was about thirty miles from Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Navy and Air Force personnel were stationed at Keflavik. The school was originally Iceland Dependent School. The school mascot was the puffin and the song was:
Puffin Song
A.T. Mahan Elementary Puffins
Working united, here to do our best!
We will soar and reach our potential; we’ll be ready for the test!!!
Forward, pressing forward, we are learning more each day.
Helping one another, meeting challenges along the way.
Parents and our teachers help us do our very best.
We will be the leaders of tomorrow –
Proud to be the best!!
The elementary school had grades kindergarten through six until the preschool was added for the 1980-81 school year. The elementary and high school had one administration for both schools until the 1969-70 school year, and both schools were included in the yearbooks which began publication for the 1962-63 school year.
According to the 1981 elementary school yearbook:
The first dependent school building at Keflavik, Iceland was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1951. The school began in the part of the building which is today used for our gymnasium, special classes, supply department and school administrative offices. Quonset huts were also used at that time. Grades one through eight began in the fall of 1951 with approximately 45-50 students.
In June 1959, a senate appropriation committee and the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force came to Iceland to look at sites for construction a facility for educating dependents. With the expansion of the base, a new elementary school was built in 1964, with additions built in 1966 and 1981 to accept the increase in enrollment.
The school was named in honor of famous naval officer, Alfred Thayer Mahan. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1859 and served during the Civil War. Admiral Mahan’s importance in history is a result of his extensive study of sea power. His book, ‘The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1690-1783”, influenced President Theodore Roosevelt to build a strong navy. Thus Admiral A. T. Mahan became known as the ‘Father of Our Modern Navy.’
There isn’t any information available about the elementary school in the 1950s. In the 1960s the enrollment increased from 288 students for the 1964-65 school year to over 500 students in the 1969-70 school year.
For the 1981-82 school year, there were nineteen classroom teachers and thirteen auxiliary teachers for art, music, physical education, counselor, learning disabilities, speech therapy, reading improvement, gifted/talented, nurse, psychologist, librarian, A/V coordinator, and preschool. There were 550 students enrolled in the school. The school building included a gymnasium and multipurpose room.
The enrollment remained the same through the 1980s. By the 1993-94 school year there were 675 students enrolled with twenty-two classroom teachers. The school now had a media center and a computer lab.
James Rail was the elementary principal for twenty-one years and had taught at the school for five years before becoming principal. He retired after the 1987-88 school year. Elizabeth Derry was the next principal, and her assistant was Donna Warner. The enrollment was now about 650 students in preschool through sixth grade. John Allen, principal, and DJ La’Fon-Byanom, assistant principal, were the administrative team in the late sixties. In the early 2000s, the principal was Richard Alix and his assistants were Arlena Ray followed by Rhonda Bennett. The last principal for the school was Dr. Gael Coyle.
Students had a well-rounded extracurricular program that included activities such as student council, drama, school newspaper, and yearbook. There were also electives that included swimming choir, art, gymnastics, and host nation exploration. After school clubs included outdoor adventures, Odessey of the Mind, math club and Japanese club. School performances, exhibitions, recognition assemblies, and contests rounded out the program.
The school closed in 2006.
Information from school yearbooks and DoDDS School Information Guides