Alexander Kyrios

Alexander H. “Al” Kyrios
1917-1988

Al Kyrios arrived in Germany in the summer of 1948 aboard a military ship along with Harry Heiges, Dorothy Kay, Luise Kramer (Gray), Herman Search, Al Verssen and 794 other educators.

Al was born and educated in Massachusetts. He received a B.A. and M.A. from Tufts University. He served in WWII with the Army’s Military Government in Europe and started his career teaching social studies and coaching sports in Acton, MA.

His first DoDDS assignment took him to Berlin as teacher, coach and later, as principal of both the elementary and high schools. While doing post-graduate work at the Free University of Berlin, he met fellow student, “Gie”, his future wife.

Al was principal of Rochefort (France) American High School in 1953-54, of Bremerhaven ES/HS 1954-55 and Heidelberg HS 1955-61, before becoming Director of High Schools for USADEG in Karlsruhe in 1961. He served in many other capacities relating to secondary education in USDESEA and DoDDSEUR, and had the responsibility for coordinating North Central Association (NCA) accreditation visits to our schools. This involved travel to most of the overseas schools between Ethiopia and Incirlik (Turkey) and from Rota (Spain) to Lakenheath (England). At the time of his death, Al was Chief, Supplementary Education Branch for DoDDS-Germany in Wiesbaden.

Al did additional post graduate work at Harvard University, MA; Carleton College, MN; Davidson College, NC; and Rockford College, IL where he was an IDEA fellow in the Institute for the Development of Educational Activities.

Both Kyrios children, Lisa and Christian, attended ‘our’ schools from K-12 until they went to college in the U.S.

Al’s professional affiliations were numerous: Charter President and Executive Secretary of the European Branch, National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), member of the National Association of State Supervisors and Directors of Secondary Education, member of several committees for both NCA and NASSP, consultant for numerous international secondary schools, member of Phi Delta Kappa and author of several publications.

Prepared by Gisela, Lisa and Christian Kyrios.