The American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) is a private

international school An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, accredited by the United States-based

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

. It has three divisions:

Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

Middle School A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

and

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. It primarily caters to the international community in Rome, Italy. Students graduating receive the American high-school diploma or the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

. It has been an IB World School since April 1989. The Head of School is Dr. Kristen DiMatteo along with Mr. Jerome Duggan as the secondary school principal and Ms. Joanne Mallary as the elementary school principal.

History

For the first half of its existence, the school was called the Overseas School of Rome. There was an OSR located at the Foro Mussolini (now the Foro Italico), near

Ponte Milvio The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge ( it, Ponte Milvio or ; la, Pons Milvius or ) is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the f ...

before 1947, but not the same school that was incorporated in that year. When news came that the Allied Forces were being moved to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, five American and five British mothers (some from the original Foro Mussolini school) got together and decided to form a school which should be nondenominational and international, combining the best of the British and American systems. This group is responsible for the organization of the official corporation that became known as the American Overseas School of Rome. The parents managed to get the British and American Ambassadors, as patrons of the school, to put pressure on the

Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia. The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first influ ...

family to rent the palazzetto of Villa Torlonia on

Via Nomentana Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of . It originally bore the name "Via Ficulensis", from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about from Rome. It was subsequently extend ...

as AOSR's first campus. The school opened its doors to the public on October 16, 1947, with 60 students. In 1952, the school moved to the current location on

Via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed throug ...

. Enrollment continued to rise steadily, reflecting the increased numbers of parents assigned to

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

consulates A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth count ...

, and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, or living in Rome as scholars, artists, journalists, and business professionals. The Board of Trustees built a new high school building in 1956, and in 1958 an auditorium and cafeteria were completed to replace the temporary structure that had been built. That same year, the United States government gave a grant to the school. A new elementary school was constructed, additional high school classrooms completed, and the gymnasium installed. In 1965, the elementary school extension was completed, as well as leveling of the field, and the school took on its present-day appearance. The Hillside Theater was added in the early 1970s. While enrollment peaked at over 800 students in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in recent years it has stabilized around 600 students. The change to the current name of American Overseas School of Rome was adopted in the late 1970s. In June 2007, AOSR celebrated its 60th Anniversary on the banks of the

Tiber River The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

Curriculum

The curriculum is that of U.S. general academic and international, college-preparatory public or private schools. The School has a strong

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

Program and also prepares students for the International Baccalaureate examinations. The School's testing program includes the College Board's PSAT,

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schola ...

/ ACT, and Advanced Placement tests, as well as the full complement of IB tests. Instruction is in English. French, Spanish, and Italian are taught as foreign languages. There is no religious instruction. The School is accredited by the

and is the first school to be granted an International Credential from the Middle States Association.

Elementary school

The curriculum of the Elementary School follows the Reggio Emilia approach

Reggio Emilia approach The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy and pedagogy focused on preschool and primary education. This approach is a student-centered and constructivist self-guided curriculum that uses self-directed, experiential learning in rela ...

. Specialists teach art, physical education, music, theater, computer, English as a Second Language, reading, and Italian. Italian students are prepared for the quinta elementare examination as long as it is required by the

Italian Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education, University and Research (in it, Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, italic=no or MIUR) is the ministry of the Italian government for the national education system, the Italian universities and ...

Middle school

AOSR Middle School focuses on the core subjects of language arts, mathematics, science and social studies and enables students to develop skills for lifelong learning. A strong foreign language program requires students to study Italian and allows them to select French, as well. Italian students are prepared for the prima, seconda, and terza media exams as long as they are required by the Italian Ministry of Education. All students are exposed to a variety of enrichment courses such as drama, art, computer, and music. Physical education is also an integral part of the curriculum. Student government, cultural trips, and after school activities supplement the academics in the middle school. American Overseas School of Rome (2007)

High school

The High School is a

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

day offering one year and semester courses. An 18-subject Advanced Placement Program and the International Baccalaureate Program are available, as well as a post-graduate (13th) year. Over the years, virtually all of the school's graduates have attended universities in the United States, England, Canada, Italy, France and throughout the world.

Athletics

AOSR offers a wide range of sports, including:

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

(

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Athletics function as an integral part of the total curriculum and life at AOSR. The school plays in the American Schools Italy League (ASIL). The ASIL is part of the DoDE

run by the

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. The program has 4 divisions with the larger schools being in division 1 and 2 and the smaller in 3 and 4. AOSR is in division 2. Each sports season consists of a few months of competition and culminates at the European championships, usually held in Germany. Mr. Daniel Zacaroli is the Athletic Director and he oversees the school's athletic membership in the Dodds mediterranean league besides inspiring young athletes to engage in sports. The American Overseas School of Rome athletic teams are known as the "Falcons." The school's cross-town rivals are primarily

Marymount International School of Rome Marymount International School Rome is a private, international, Catholic, co-educational day school that follows the American grading system and a part of the Global Network of RSHM Schools which includes 19 Marymount schools in Europe, North Ame ...

and St. Stephen's International School.

Nationalities

The American Overseas School of Rome is home to an international student body of around 600 students with approximately one third from the United States, one third from Italy, and the remaining third from 50 different countries.

Organization

The School is governed by a 12-member Board of Trustees, who are elected by the parents or guardians of children enrolled in the School. The School is recognized as a non-profit institution under Italian law and is incorporated in the State of Delaware as tax-exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the US

Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 ...

Associations and memberships

The American Overseas School of Rome is a member o
RISA
(Rome International Schools Association),

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

(Council of International Schools) an
ECIS

The American University of Rome The American University of Rome (commonly referred to as AUR) is a degree-granting American university in Rome, Italy. AUR is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in the United States and is recognized by the Italian Min ...

and American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) signed a cooperation agreement on February 7, 2008. The schools work together to seek outside funding for school projects and share facilities, special programs, and opportunities for faculty development.

Notable alumni

Justin Davidson Justin Davidson (born in Rome, Italy, in 1966) is a classical music and architecture critic. In 1983, he graduated from the American Overseas School of Rome, where his mother was an English teacher. Davidson began his journalism career as a loc ...

* Samuel D. Gruber *

Alessandra Mussolini Alessandra is a female given name of Italian origin, meaning ''defender of men''. It is the Italian form of the female given name Alexandra and the female form of the male given name Alessandro. Alessandra may refer to: * Alessandra Ambrosio (bo ...

References

External links

Official websiteIB official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Overseas School Of Rome

International Baccalaureate schools in Italy Educational institutions established in 1947 International schools in Rome 1947 establishments in Italy Secondary schools in Italy