Army Engineers help DoDEA bring schools into the 21st century

Hannah Mitchell/USACE Europe District

Apr 25, 2025

Europe District is proud to provide high-quality engineering, construction and general services to DoDEA-Europe.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District personnel check out progress on the new elementary school being constructed in the Wetzel Housing Area portion of the Baumholder Military Community in Germany March 28, 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District is managing construction of the project in close coordination with German construction partners, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz and the Department of Defense Education Activity as part of the $2.1 billion program involving 30 major construction projects at DoDEA facilities across Germany and Belgium. (U.S. Army photo by Stephanie Logue)

Providing a 21st century educational experience for the 25,000 children of DoD personnel stationed overseas requires creativity, innovation and a whole lot of engineering. The Department of Defense Education Activity manages the education of the children of DoD personnel all over the world. Ensuring these children continue to learn and grow involves planning, constructing and maintaining top-notch facilities. It’s also a key element of delivering on the Department of Defense’s quality of life promises for family stationed at U.S. power projection platforms overseas.

To support delivering that on those quality-of-life promises, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, is collaborating with DoDEA, German construction administration partners, host installations, and others to manage a $2.1 billion program involving 30 major construction projects at facilities across Germany and Belgium.

Europe District Supervisory Program Manager Steve Ross has been overseeing the DoDEA construction program for several years and emphasized how Europe District is proud to be working with DoDEA to help accomplish this goal.

“DoDEA is a great partner to work with,” Ross said. “We share a common goal to get these facilities online and in use. We also have a great partnership with the German Bauamt. Without them we couldn’t get this work done.”

New schools are all designed and built to enable educators to foster critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. This is done by incorporating features like moveable walls to maximize flexible use of space and outdoor spaces made to double as functional outdoor learning areas, gathering places and more. They are also all wired for the latest in educational technology.

Out of the 30 construction projects, 28 are new schools or major school expansions. To date, 17 of these schools are complete and now holding classes with the Brussels Unit School in Belgium being the most recently completed. This school is part of U.S. Army Garrison Benelux and is wrapping up its first school year serving nearly 300 students. Seven more of the remaining schools are already under construction at U.S. installations across Germany.

Baumholder Elementary School is one of the schools still in construction as part of this program. When completed, this school will serve 700 students, the children of DoD employees in the Baumholder Military Community within U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz. It will replace Smith Elementary School with a 21st-century design that incorporates informational teaching tools into every surface, helping students understand the infrastructure of the building they use every day. Construction for this school is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Europe District is also constructing a brand-new school on U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden: Clay Elementary School on Lucius D. Clay Kaserne. While most of the schools being constructed are replacing aging facilities, the new Clay Elementary School will augment the garrison’s two existing elementary schools to provide additional class space for the community's growing student population. Clay Elementary School, expected to be completed in 2028, will be able to serve nearly 300 additional students.

The program includes more than just schools on U.S. Army installations. The U.S. Air Force’s Spangdahlem Air Base is also getting a new elementary school scheduled to open in 2027. It’s replacing the existing elementary school on the air base and will be able to serve more than 650 students, providing them with 21st-century classrooms, computer labs, recreation and playground areas and so much more.

On-site work began this past fall on the new Robinson Elementary School on U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, making it the most recent construction project in Europe District’s DoDEA program. When complete, the school will serve over 300 students, bringing the total elementary school capacity to around 1,300 students within the Wiesbaden community.

And these a just a few of the facilities that are still being constructed.

Four more schools are still being designed, including new facilities that will benefit families stationed in the Baumholder Military Community, Kaiserslautern Military Community, the Garmisch area of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach.
The new schools are all designed to emphasize collaboration and enable multidisciplinary teaching. As these schools come online in the next few years, students will be able to experience modern educational environments designed to help them develop real-world skills and prepare them for the future.

“Europe District is proud to provide high-quality engineering, construction and general services to DoDEA-Europe to build innovative and modern innovative and modern learning environments for military connected children,” Ross said. “Everybody understands how important it is to provide the best educational opportunities for children of families stationed overseas and we’re glad to be part of that mission.”