Ramstein welcomes DoDDS teachers back, hosts forum

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Damon Kasberg
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Teachers, school administrators and support staff from throughout the Kaiserslautern Military Community attended a teacher forum Aug. 27, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Hosted by Gen. Jon T. Thomas, 86th Airlift Wing commander, the forum provided him an opportunity to welcome back teachers after summer recess, discuss installation matters impacting schools and thank them for what they do.

"What you do as teachers is so important; you need good support and partnership," said Thomas. "I want everyone to know you have that from the 86th Airlift Wing and installation commander.  If there is something we can do better or help with, let's sit down and talk about it. As a parent, I know if you're successful, our children are successful, and when our children are successful, we're all successful."

There are 11 Department of Defense Dependents Schools and more than 600 teachers in the KMC. During the forum they were able to meet new faculty members, receive briefings from Military Family Life Consultant, Family Advocacy Outreach and other speakers, including Garianne Wrenchy, 2016 Kaiserslautern district teacher of the year, who shared a few motivational words.

"We're so used to doing what we do that we forget what we do is special," said Wrenchy. "We forget to celebrate our profession and our accomplishments. We're too busy looking at our students' accomplishments. I challenge everyone sitting in this room today to think and remember the kids for whom you've made a difference. I think you'll find there are a lot of them."

With the new school year starting, teachers had an opportunity to listen first hand to the words of support from the installation commander and teacher of the year.   

"I thought the forum was great," said Christine Aragon, Ramstein Elementary School Spanish teacher. "It was refreshing to see the leadership we have here, and our teachers of the year are just a snippet of what Kaiserslautern has to offer. I'm excited to start a new year."

The KMC enrolls more than 7,400 students across five elementary schools, one intermediate school, four middle schools and two high schools located on Air Force and Army installations.