WIESBADEN, Germany -- With four ceremonies at four schools in four days at the beginning of this new school year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Defense Education Activity and local partners in Germany celebrated the latest slate of new schools for the children of service members stationed in Europe.
All four schools are part of a larger effort by DoDEA-Europe to construct 21st-century education concept facilities throughout Europe, replacing many schools dating back as far as the 1950s and 1960s with modern facilities for the children of personnel stationed overseas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District is managing that construction program for DoDEA in Germany and Belgium, which involves 28 major projects valued at $1.6 billion.
“It’s really an honor to build these facilities for our children and for the children of our service members who come over here, overseas, away from family and need a great place to get an education,” said Europe District Commander Col. Pat Dagon during the ribbon cutting ceremony at Wiesbaden Elementary School, the third of four ceremonies in one week.
In addition to Wiesbaden Elementary School on the Hainerberg Kaserne portion of U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, the other recently completed schools include Ramstein High School at Ramstein Air Base, Kaiserslautern Elementary School on the Kaipun Station portion of U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, and Spangdahlem Middle and High School at Spangdahlem Air Base.
“We have 28 total projects in the program, at approximately 1.6 billion dollars for the entire program,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District Program Manager Steve Ross. “These four schools we’re recognizing make it 14 total projects that we’ve completed for DoDEA under this program and it really feels good to be able to design and build these great schools for our future leaders.”
The $1.6 billion of DoDEA work being managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Europe began in 2010, with 14 new schools now turned over and occupied by students attending classes and approximately $750 million in design and construction complete.
Three schools are still under construction, including the Patch Elementary School at U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, Grafenwoehr Elementary School at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the new Brussels American School which serves children of service members assigned to U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, as well as many international partner militaries due to its proximity to NATO operations.
Additionally, nine more schools in Germany and Belgium are in the design phase, along with a parking improvement project in Brussels and new administrative facilities in Chievres Air Base in Belgium also in design.
The four newest schools, along with most of the others already delivered, represent DoDEA’s 21st-century education concept.
Using the process of designing and building a new 21st century concept school itself as a metaphor for the values and benefits of the 21st century learning concept, DoDEA Director Tom Brady highlighted the key elements that went into building these new schools in his remarks at the Wiesbaden Elementary School ribbon cutting.
“The building couldn't be built without the things that we want inside for 21st century teaching and learning - we want teamwork, we want collaboration, we want critical thinking and problem solving,” said Brady, who spoke at all four ceremonies. “And you wouldn't have the building without that, you wouldn’t have the building without teamwork. It wouldn't be a building without the great work of the Corps of Engineers, without the great work of the German (partners) the Bauamt all making sure it was on time, on target, on budget.”
In order to facilitate those goals of 21st century learning, the schools are designed with four key themes, making the facilities flexible and adaptable, incorporating outdoor learning into the design, using the facility itself as a teaching tool and incorporating technology into the fabric of the buildings themselves.
These concepts are woven throughout the new schools celebrated in September.
The ceremonies themselves highlighted these elements, as students were able to participate virtually in groups of varying sizes in neighborhoods and classrooms to watch live streaming of their ceremonies. This allowed for students to still be a part of each ceremony without requiring all students and faculty to gather together in one large group, thus reducing risks associated with COVID.
All of the schools also feature educational signage that turns the facilities themselves into learning opportunities so students can get a better understanding of the infrastructure around them that may otherwise be taken for granted. These range from age-appropriate signage explaining how fire sprinklers work at Wiesbaden Elementary to others at Kaiserslautern Elementary School that turn green energy innovations like solar panels and a wind turbine that help provide the school power into learning experiences.
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