Wayne County Reads

The Vandenberg building, originally called the Weaver School was built in 1952 as the first structure used specifically for the education of the children of Ellsworth Air Force Base. Built on government land and maintained by the Air Force, the original Vandenberg building consisted of

eighteen classrooms. The Rapid City Independent District contracted and operated the Vandenberg School. With the base population growing so rapidly, in 1955 an eight classroom addition was added to the original structure. By June 15, 1955, using temporary buildings on base and the Vandenberg Building, the present Douglas School System was in operation. On July 21, 1972, construction of a gymnasium and a library was begun as part of an agreement to deed the property over to the Douglas School System. On October 16, 1974, the Douglas School System accepted the land and building with the title being cleared in 1995. Since the summer of 1991, the Vandenberg Building has housed fourth and fifth grade students.

Programs Offered By the School

• Read-Write Literacy Program and Book Clubs- At least 30 minutes daily work is carried on reading, writing, and vocabulary building. The Book Club introduces a new work of children's literature every month. Reading aloud to children for the purpose to conveys proven benefit to reading progress.
• Character Development Program-Children shape important values in five key areas: community involvement, mentoring, Conflict resolution and Diversity appreciation with family involvement.
• Wellness Program-Our wellness program focuses on physical activity, health, nutrition, goal-setting, and relaxation and stress management. Staffs encourage healthy eating and physical fitness as a lifelong pursuit.
• Kindergarten Extended Day-To work closely with classroom teachers to reinforce learning concepts. Communication with parents keeps updating children's progress. Break Programs include families during school breaks throughout the year, including holiday breaks and non-working school days. These full-day programs provide a fun, camp-like environment to location and hours for meeting school district and family needs.