Kaiserslautern High School, also known as “K-Town” or simply “KHS” is a Department of Defense operated international school in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The school, which serves over 800 students with 62 full-time educators, is located on Illinois Place in Vogelweh. KHS is part of the DoDEA as well as DoDDS system. KHS is located in the Kaiserslautern District, one of the six European school districts run by DoDEA, and is one of the largest DoDDS schools by population in Europe. KHS serves students of the KMC. With approximately 50,000 American inhabitants, KMC is the largest community of Americans outside the United States. Shortly after the development of Western Area Command in 1952, when Americans took over the western area of Germany from the French, KHS was housed in a converted apartment building. On March 12, 1953, the school moved into an old hospital building and expanded continuously over the years. From 1953 to 1958, the school included a dormitory for approximately 150 French and German students. The school was originally known as Rhine High, not being referred to as "KAHS" until the early sixties, and "KHS" fairly recently. The school grew quickly, in 1982 KHS was the largest military-operated high school outside the continental US. Today, Kaiserslautern High School's enrollment has increased due to the relocation of military forces in Europe. Nevertheless, KHS is known for providing excellent education and has a graduation rate of over 85%. When compared to other DoDEA schools, KHS ranks first in standardized test scores. With an annual tuition of approximately $26,000, KHS is also a rather expensive institution . However, dependents of the military, Department of Defense contractors, NATO members and retired military dependents are exempt from paying. KHS is fully accredited by the North Central Association for Accreditation. Every five years the school is visited by North Central to assess the success of the school's individual school improvement plan. The professional and auxiliary staff members at the school complete an in-depth report which addresses one affective and one cognitive area that the school has chosen to address in an outcomes-based school improvement plan. This self-study is submitted to the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for their review and evaluation. In 2012, Dr. Barriett Smith replaced Dr. Jennifer Beckwith as principal. Smith transferred from Ramstein High School, one of the largest schools in the DoDDS system. In 2011, the former vice principal Ms. Claudette DeWitt was replaced by Mr. Dana Francis. Ms. Patrice Powdar became assistant principal in 2016.
Campus History
KHS currently comprises one main building with four different wings from A1-D2. Attached to the school is the raider gym as well as a work out room with plenty of equipment. Along with the outstanding gym, the school also has a tennis court, a baseball/softball field, a football stadium, a shooting range for JROTC, and a band room with practice rooms.
Schedules
KHS runs on a two-day block schedule, each day having four classes 85 minutes long. The first period starts at 8:20 AM and instructional periods end at 3:00 PM each day. All students are required to take four years of English, two years of a foreign language, four years of mathematics, three years of science, one semester of health, two semesters of physical education, three years of a social-studies-based course, and several electives. The current graduation requirement is a GPA of 2.0 as well as 26 credits.
Demographics
Seniors 128
Juniors 176
Sophomores 169
Freshmen 199
Staff 72
Sports
During the school year, KHS sports teams compete in many competitions against schools from Wiesbaden, Ramstein, Patch, and Vilseck. All teams compete in the European Championships at the end of each season. KHS is known for the exceptional Girls basketball, boys soccer, and the Track & Field teams, with standout performances from Jada Branch, Jacob Winchell, Eric Santiago, Phillip Rimmler, Ervin Johnson, Austin Higby, and Esteban Saldana in recent years.
Josh Simpson, professional soccer player, formerly on the local team 1. FC Kaiserslautern spoke at the school several times.
Luis Robles, professional soccer player, formerly on the local team 1. FC Kaiserslautern spoke at the school several times and assisted with the school's boys soccer team.
Chuck Yeager, spoke to the graduating class of 1988.
