About Our School

Tarawa Terrace Elementary School was originally Tarawa Terrace 2 Elementary School (TT2). TT2 was originally housed on Saipan Drive. Our current building was completed in October of 2001. In April of 2011, a tornado struck the neighborhood of Tarawa Terrace. Tarawa Terrace Primary School was damaged, thus that school finished the remainder of the school year with Tarawa Terrace 2. Our two schools merged and we began the 2011-2012 school year as Tarawa Terrace Elementary School (TTES), currently serving Pre-K through grade 5. Tarawa Terrace Elementary School is devoted to continuous school improvement and we pride ourselves in providing a world class education setting for our students and families.

Tarawa Terrace Elementary School serves approximately 450 students. Our school has 26 classrooms with other rooms designed for curricular support, two computer labs and special education services. The professional staff includes teachers, special educators, teachers for art, music, physical education, and an informational specialist. Additionally, a full time nurse, guidance counselor, gifted resource teacher, psychologist, 2 instructional support staff and an educational technologist serve our students. Para-professionals (Educational Aides) support the educational program in our preschool, kindergarten and special education programs and are vital to the implementation of the curriculum and care we provide for our students. A comprehensive master schedule provides large blocks of uninterrupted instructional time and common planning time for teachers at each grade level. Other opportunities to build a professional learning community are supported through the allocation of time each Wednesday. These times are devoted to consistent and deliberate collaborative instructional planning that promotes productive discussion about student learning. TTES teachers clearly link collaboration to improvement results in instructional practice and student performance. Tarawa Terrace Elementary School routinely communicates effectively with stakeholder groups within the school and school community to ensures shared decision making, to solicit feedback and to respond to stakeholders, and to work collaboratively on school improvement efforts.

Tarawa Terrace Elementary School is proud to serve our military community by providing a nurturing, safe school environment with daily rigorous and engaging educational opportunities for our student

Our Namesake: The Battle of Tarawa

The Battle of Tarawa was a battle fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The islet group of Tarawa is located southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. The battle of Tarawa was fought from November 20th through the 23rd in 1943 and lasted for 76 hours. The American invasion force was the largest yet assembled for a single operation in the Pacific. The 2nd Marine Division, which is still headquartered at Camp Lejeune, led the invasion. Tarawa's military significance lay in its strategic position as the entrance of the United States push through the central Pacific. The cost of the victory was high for the 2nd Marine Division.

Tarawa Terrace was named after the Battle of Tarawa. Tarawa Terrace housing development began in June 1951. This was Camp Lejeune's first dependent housing project since World War II. As the housing development grew in Tarawa Terrace, two schools were created. Tarawa Terrace 1 Primary School (TT1) housed grades PK -1, and Tarawa Terrace 2 Elementary School(TT2) included grades K-5. In April of 2011 a tornado hit the TT housing area destroying homes and the TT1 Primary School. TT2 Elementary School immediately opened their doors to the staff and students of TT1. The two schools were merged together during the last 9 weeks of the school year 2010-2011. Since the merger of the two schools, Tarawa Terrace 2 Elementary School's name was changed to Tarawa Terrace Elementary School (TTES).