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Balboa High School (Panama)
Encyclopedia
Balboa High School was a public high school
in the former Canal Zone
on the isthmus of Panama
.
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and the Canal Zone. Given the temporary nature of the enterprise, public secondary education for white, US employees' children was initially modest and fluid. During the first construction years, white American students from Pacific-area towns would commute to a high school in the Atlantic port of Cristobal
(and later, Gatun
) until separate high school facilities were made available for both areas. It was only after the completion of the Canal that a permanent school system was created and permanent buildings were erected to house Canal Zone
secondary schools.
Construction of the first permanent building to house a high school in Balboa was completed in 1917. What came to be Balboa High School was not started until 1942 and completed through additions in 1948, 1949, 1963 and 1969. Prior to that, the high school was located in part of Bldg. 710, known for most of its history as Balboa Elementary School and in a temporary wooden building for several years. Starting in 1966, a junior high school was opened in Curundu to accommodate the overcrowding at Diablo Junior High School.
For most of the Canal Zone's history, Balboa High School's rival was the Atlantic-side Cristobal High School (later Cristobal Junior-Senior High School). Two other high schools in the Canal Zone
, Paraiso High School and Rainbow City High School, were segregated for dependents of the Canal Zone
's Afro-Antillean and South Asian employees. Desegregation of these schools began in 1975 and was completed in 1979, at the same time as the Canal Zone
's abolition.
Balboa High School operated a popular Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program in which a majority of male students participated. Junior ROTC was initiated in the Fall school term of 1948, and continued throughout the remainder of the school's history. A shooting range was maintained in the school's basement, and every year the Balboa High School cadets competed against Cristobal High School in a Field Day competition.
was torn during conflict between Panamanian students and Canal Zone Police officers, over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the U.S. flag. There are conflicting claims about how the flag was torn.
The ensuing violent reaction by Panamanians at the border with the Canal Zone
when news of the torn flag reached Panama City, resulted in an overwhelmed Canal Zone Police
calling for support from U.S. Army
units that became involved in suppressing the violence, and after three days of fighting, about 21 Panamanians and four U.S. soldiers were killed. The incident is considered to be a significant factor in the U.S. decision to transfer control of the Canal Zone to Panama through the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties
.
in 1979, Balboa High School, like the rest of the Canal Zone Schools system, fell under the Department of Defense Dependents Schools
. Over the next two decades, the population of American Canal Zone dependents decreased as the population of the Canal Zone
itself changed. Aside from thousands of American dependents of the Panama Canal Company (later Panama Canal Commission), Canal Zone Government and U.S. armed forces, Balboa High School was also the Alma Mater of many of Panama's business and political elite.
During the December 1989 "Operation Just Cause," which removed General Manuel Noriega
from power and ended Panama's 21-year military dictatorship, the premises of the Balboa High School were temporarily used by the US Armed Forces to house civilians displaced from Panama City's El Chorrillo neighborhood who were displaced by the fires resulting from the attack on the Panamanian Defense Forces' headquarters.
Balboa High School closed in 1999 in anticipation of the handover of the Panama Canal
to the Republic of Panama, the removal of final U.S. forces from the isthmus and the closure of the DoDDS
Panama. Over the years thousands of Americans and Panamanians graduated from Balboa High School. They included William Ford, vice president of Panama and Gustavo A. Mellander, noted historian and university administrator. The BHS campus today is used as part of the offices of the Panama Canal Authority (and includes some of the offices of Human Resources, Health Services, etc.). The old Balboa High School gym is now used for the Panama Canal Authority's "Pacific-side" "Center for Worker-&-Employee Health-&-Wellness" (despite the name, it's used as a gym, with some weight-lifting and treadmill facilities, as well as a sauna and racketball court, and a track-and-field with a track made of gravel). The gym, sauna, racketball court, track, and field (which was used by Balboa High School, as well as used as the field for weekly Friday football games and tryouts, and cheerleading meets and tryouts) are all leftovers of the Panama Canal Zone days, as well as the Balboa High School days.
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High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in the former Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
on the isthmus of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
Early history
The history of Balboa High School is intimately bound to the history of the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and the Canal Zone. Given the temporary nature of the enterprise, public secondary education for white, US employees' children was initially modest and fluid. During the first construction years, white American students from Pacific-area towns would commute to a high school in the Atlantic port of Cristobal
Cristóbal, Colón
Cristóbal is a port in the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. It is located on the western edge of Manzanillo Island and is part of the Panamanian city and province of Colón...
(and later, Gatun
Gatún
Gatun is a small town on the Atlantic Side of the Panama Canal, located south of the city of Colón at the point in which Gatun Lake meets the channel to the Caribbean Sea...
) until separate high school facilities were made available for both areas. It was only after the completion of the Canal that a permanent school system was created and permanent buildings were erected to house Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
secondary schools.
Construction of the first permanent building to house a high school in Balboa was completed in 1917. What came to be Balboa High School was not started until 1942 and completed through additions in 1948, 1949, 1963 and 1969. Prior to that, the high school was located in part of Bldg. 710, known for most of its history as Balboa Elementary School and in a temporary wooden building for several years. Starting in 1966, a junior high school was opened in Curundu to accommodate the overcrowding at Diablo Junior High School.
For most of the Canal Zone's history, Balboa High School's rival was the Atlantic-side Cristobal High School (later Cristobal Junior-Senior High School). Two other high schools in the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, Paraiso High School and Rainbow City High School, were segregated for dependents of the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
's Afro-Antillean and South Asian employees. Desegregation of these schools began in 1975 and was completed in 1979, at the same time as the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
's abolition.
Balboa High School operated a popular Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program in which a majority of male students participated. Junior ROTC was initiated in the Fall school term of 1948, and continued throughout the remainder of the school's history. A shooting range was maintained in the school's basement, and every year the Balboa High School cadets competed against Cristobal High School in a Field Day competition.
Controversy
In January 1964, Balboa High School was the scene of a controversial confrontation between high school students from Panama's Instituto Nacional and groups of students and parents from Balboa High School. The events, known in Panama as Martyrs' Day and in the U.S. as 1964 Panama Canal riots, started after a Panamanian flagFlag of Panama
The flag of Panama was made by Maria Ossa de Amador. It has been officially adopted by the "ley 48 de 1925"; the flag is celebrated on November 4, one day after Panamanian independence from Colombia....
was torn during conflict between Panamanian students and Canal Zone Police officers, over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the U.S. flag. There are conflicting claims about how the flag was torn.
The ensuing violent reaction by Panamanians at the border with the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
when news of the torn flag reached Panama City, resulted in an overwhelmed Canal Zone Police
Canal Zone Police
The Canal Zone Police was a force that consisted of more than 400 police officers of all ranks split into two Divisions, Atlantic and Pacific, and between about 25 stations...
calling for support from U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
units that became involved in suppressing the violence, and after three days of fighting, about 21 Panamanians and four U.S. soldiers were killed. The incident is considered to be a significant factor in the U.S. decision to transfer control of the Canal Zone to Panama through the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties
Torrijos-Carter Treaties
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
.
Late History
With the abolition of the Canal Zone governmentPanama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
in 1979, Balboa High School, like the rest of the Canal Zone Schools system, fell under the Department of Defense Dependents Schools
Department of Defense Dependents Schools
The Department of Defense Dependents Schools are a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve dependents of United States military - and other non-US - personnel outside the United States. The schools themselves are operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity...
. Over the next two decades, the population of American Canal Zone dependents decreased as the population of the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
itself changed. Aside from thousands of American dependents of the Panama Canal Company (later Panama Canal Commission), Canal Zone Government and U.S. armed forces, Balboa High School was also the Alma Mater of many of Panama's business and political elite.
During the December 1989 "Operation Just Cause," which removed General Manuel Noriega
Manuel Noriega
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...
from power and ended Panama's 21-year military dictatorship, the premises of the Balboa High School were temporarily used by the US Armed Forces to house civilians displaced from Panama City's El Chorrillo neighborhood who were displaced by the fires resulting from the attack on the Panamanian Defense Forces' headquarters.
Balboa High School closed in 1999 in anticipation of the handover of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to the Republic of Panama, the removal of final U.S. forces from the isthmus and the closure of the DoDDS
Department of Defense Dependents Schools
The Department of Defense Dependents Schools are a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve dependents of United States military - and other non-US - personnel outside the United States. The schools themselves are operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity...
Panama. Over the years thousands of Americans and Panamanians graduated from Balboa High School. They included William Ford, vice president of Panama and Gustavo A. Mellander, noted historian and university administrator. The BHS campus today is used as part of the offices of the Panama Canal Authority (and includes some of the offices of Human Resources, Health Services, etc.). The old Balboa High School gym is now used for the Panama Canal Authority's "Pacific-side" "Center for Worker-&-Employee Health-&-Wellness" (despite the name, it's used as a gym, with some weight-lifting and treadmill facilities, as well as a sauna and racketball court, and a track-and-field with a track made of gravel). The gym, sauna, racketball court, track, and field (which was used by Balboa High School, as well as used as the field for weekly Friday football games and tryouts, and cheerleading meets and tryouts) are all leftovers of the Panama Canal Zone days, as well as the Balboa High School days.
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