Opening Our Eyes Again to Overseas Schooling

Executive Perspective

I recently returned from a trip with AASA International Seminars, an annual tradition that was impacted by COVID-19, with the last trip having taken place in October 2019. This May, the International Seminar resumed with a trip to Italy, offering participants the opportunity to learn more about the host country’s educational system.

Because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, we were not able to visit local schools, but did arrange visits to American Overseas Schools in Florence and Rome.

The U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools has, as its mission, the promotion of “quality educational opportunities at the elementary and secondary level for dependents of American citizens carrying out the programs of the U.S. Government abroad.” It is an attempt to preserve an American education for students overseas with almost a quarter of a million students attending. 

They are not to be confused with the Department of Defense schools, which operate out of American military bases throughout the world and educate the children of military personnel.

The Overseas Schools are in essence private, tuition-based schools that cater to the children of U.S. diplomats, the children of U.S. business officials situated in that country, as well as child natives of that country. The majority of the 194 schools are nonprofit, nondenominational, independent schools that receive assistance and support from the Office of Overseas Schools. 

Ownership of the schools is usually in the hands of a board composed of the school’s parents. In addition to tuition, the schools also receive financial assistance from local and U.S.-based businesses and foundations and local governments.

Many of the school heads have held superintendencies in the states. David Ottaviano, who heads the International School of Florence, had worked as a superintendent in New Jersey before launching an international career that has taken him to Japan, Serbia, Romania, United Arab Emirates and now Italy. Most staff are American educators who were recruited in the U.S.

International Atmosphere

We enjoyed a delightful visit to the school in Florence, a beautiful facility that was a former villa overlooking the city. The school offers elementary and secondary instruction with the International Baccalaureate as the focus of instruction. The school provides “an education-al experience that is internationally minded, uniquely Florentine, outward looking and research led in its commitment to educational innovation.”

Tony Pascoe, the lower school principal, is passionate about the school’s international flavor. He sees the school’s cultural and linguistic diversity as its greatest asset. The school also focuses on the adjustment that newly arrived students and their families must make to a new environment and culture.

As exciting and flamboyant living in Florence might seem, major adjustments are needed if you are to become a full-time resident rather than a tourist. After months of living in Florence, Pascoe is awaiting a driver’s license, forcing him to commute to his school via scooter.

The majority of students graduate with the IB Diploma, and most continue their higher education at European universities, with only 18 percent returning to the states. The Florentine environment is an influential element in the school’s culture, contributing to the international atmosphere that prevails.

We next visited the American Overseas School of Rome situated just within the city limits. The school offers an elementary and secondary education along with both the International Baccalaureate program and Advanced Placement courses. 

Unlike the villa atmosphere of Florence, the school in Rome is more traditional, with typical classrooms, athletic fields, gymnasium and lunchroom. The school has a larger student population and most graduates do return to the U.S. for their college studies.

Evolving Employment

Although they have quite different settings and program emphases, both schools offer an excellent education. That is the trademark of the American Overseas Schools. Our diplomats and American business employees need not worry their school-age children will be denied an appropriate education regardless of where in the world they are stationed.

I am honored to serve on the American Overseas Schools Advisory Board, and I recall how, prior to the growth in terrorism and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, an overseas assignment was a lucrative career choice. Educators who loved to travel the world were quick to apply for these positions. 

Although Americans still make up the majority of individuals staffing these schools, their representation is declining, and schools have to rely increasingly on non-Americans to fill the leadership and teaching vacancies.