School Update: Pre-K thru 8th grade to return to Spangdahlem Published March 31, 2016 By Staff Reports 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The 52nd Fighter Wing, in close cooperation with leaders from Department of Defense Education Activity-Europe and Spangdahlem schools, announced March 31, 2016, that pre-kindergarten through 8th Grade students will attend school on Spangdahlem Air Base for the entirety of the 2016-2017 school year. The update comes weeks after the wing conducted two town halls addressing long-term plans to construct a modern elementary school on base. Those plans previously entailed kindergarten and second grade students would remain at the Bitburg Annex until after the winter break. "Despite some challenges along the way, we maintained our partnerships and strong working relationships with our DoDEA partners, and this is the positive result," said Col. Joe McFall, 52nd Fighter Wing commander. "I know many of you will wonder what changed since our last Town Hall and I'll simply tell you that this breakthrough is a result of your voice being heard and of our leadership team here at Spangdahlem, including your local principals, refusing to give up. We continued to fight and push and finally we did it." Pre-kindergarten through 4th grade students and 5th grade through 8th grade students will respectively occupy the existing Spangdahlem Elementary School and Spangdahlem Middle School complexes. Fifth grade students will remain under the oversight of SES leadership and will be taught in their own dedicated area of the middle school to limit interaction with SMS students. The planned temporary modular facilities will continue to be built at Spangdahlem. School leadership is developing a corresponding bus plan along with the transition schedule and student allocation where all grades, to include Bitburg High School, will ultimately return to Spangdahlem Air Base. Wing and school leaders urged parents to enroll their children as soon as possible to be factored in to the developing plans for the testbed 2016-2017 school year. "I know many parents were hesitant with enrollments because of the previous plan to separate kindergarten and 2nd Grade," said Dr. Angie Lamonski, Bitburg/Spangdahlem Elementary School principal. "Now that we've cleared the final hurdles to bring everybody back to Spangdahlem, we really need you to get out to the schools and register. It's critical for our ability to refine this plan and communicate that back to the community." Enrollment for all schools is currently open through April 1 at SMS from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. After that, all parents should report to the applicable school to register their child during regular office hours. A town hall covering this information and additional updates is planned for after DoDEA spring break and will be publicized in advance. For more information, contact Christine D'Amico, the Spangdahlem school liaison officer, at DSN 452-6942 or Comm: 0656561-6942.