History
From 2003 to 2008 students, at what would eventually become Echo Hill Elementary, got their start at Oak Ridge School when it housed students in Kindergarten through 8th grade.
Echo Hill Elementary opened on August 20, 2008 under the leadership of Principal Dan Ludwig with a staff of 67 and 529 students.
The school is named after an area about a half-mile west of the current building. The site played a key role in space exploration in the 1950s and 60s. Several large satellite dishes were placed on a ridge, known as Echo Hill, where Collins Radio (now Collins Aerospace) engineers, first bounced a video image off the moon in the 1950s.
The original Echo Hill was considered far enough out of town to help minimize electrical interference, but close enough that it could be linked to the Collins buildings on C Avenue NE and 50th Street (now known as Collins Road.)
Echo Hill School opened in 2008 with 24 classrooms. It included four sections for each grade level, a science room, an art/music room, and 10 support rooms. In addition to the classrooms, the school housed a gym and a cafeteria/multi-purpose room with a built-in stage.
- 2006 – A $27.5 million bond issue was passed to build two new elementary schools (Echo Hill Elementary and Linn Grove Elementary)
- 2006 – Echo Hill Elementary School construction begins
- 2008 – Construction completed — students K-5 moved from Oak Ridge (K-8)
- 2008 – Echo Hill Elementary School opens August 20
Today
Principal CJ McDonald and a staff of 79 are dedicated to the educational development of more than 500 students in grades PK-4.