A Brief History of Schutz by GW Meloy

Schutz American School is probably the oldest "American School" in all of Africa. In the early years of this century, children of Americans working/living in Africa were in one way or another taught by mothers, fathers, tutors or nannies. Some students were fortunate enough to have access to the Calvert correspondence courses available which followed a typical American elementary program.

However, near the end of the first quarter of the last century, parents (primarily those who were part of the Protestant Mission movement) began to voice the need for establishing a system to provide schooling for their youngsters on the continent.

In 1924, two young college graduates in education from Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, were hired to open a school in Alexandria for 17 American pupils aged seven to fifteen . From that time until about 1964, a majority of the students lived at the school as boarders. Obviously, with transportation in Africa in those early years as it was, many students were away from their parents for a major part of each year.

As the school campus was in the district of Alexandria called "Schutz", the students gave the school its name, although it was officially called, "The School for Missionary Children". During World War II, with the German armies closing in on Alexandria, the school personnel evacuated with their equipment and furnishings from Alexandria to Assiut, Egypt. War shut down the Schutz School operation two more times after 1941, in 1956 and 1967, but each time Schutz was able to reopen and continue its educational mission.

The school was operated by the Presbyterian Church until 1968, after which a local board, under the direction of Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri, oversaw operations until 1976. At that time, Schutz came under the direction of a local school board, composed of men and women of various nationalities from the Alexandria community, and from the American Embassy and Presbyterian mission in Cairo.

The size and configuration of Schutz has varied over the years since 1968. In 1990, the student boarding department was closed although many of the US hired teaching staff continue to live on the campus. During one period in the 1980's, a Swedish school was contained within Schutz, with Swedish teachers furnished by the Swedish government to work with younger Swedish children. For a number of years, Schutz was the homebase of the Tarkio College semester study abroad program. The Northfield-Mt. Hermon School (Northfield, Massachusetts) has operated a study abroad program at Schutz for the last 15 years. As the Schutz student body increased over the years, a second school campus was secured a mile from the original school campus with a third site developed later. As of the summer of 1998, a property adjacent to the original property was purchased to afford additional space for school activities

Schutz American School today is a non-profit organization governed by a 12 member Board of Trustees. The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the European Council of International Schools (ECIS). Contact Head of School - P.O. Box 1000, Alexandria, Egypt.

The Book of Our Lives

The book is a compilation of memoirs written by students, staff and board members describing the life and times of Schutz American School, Egypt, in Alexandria and Assiut, between 1925 and 1990. Schutz students (both boarding and day) during that time have numbered more than 2000, coming from more than 70 countries around the world.
One reader comments, "...how relevant and wonderful are the images and memories the book conjures up, even for those who were at Schutz years later." The book is available for $15 at the annual reunion or you may request one by email.