History
For the first half of its existence, the school was called the Overseas School of Rome. There actually was an OSR located at the Foro Mussolini (now the Foro Italico), near Ponte Milvio 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, five American and five British mothers (some from the original Foro Mussolini school) got together and decided to form a school which should be undenominational 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 family to rent the palazzetto of Villa Torlonia on Via Nomentana as AOSR's first campus. The school opened its doors to the public on October 16, 1947, with a grand total of 60 students.
In 1952, the school moved from its original site to the current location on Via Cassia. Enrollment continued to rise steadily, reflecting the increased numbers of parents assigned to embassies, consulates, and the United Nations, or living in Rome as scholars, artists, journalists, and business professionals. The Board of Trustees accepted the challenge and opportunity of rising enrollment by constructing 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 expressed its recognition of the school's educational program, and the importance of the mutual respect and collaboration generated by the exchange of ideas and experiences among members of the multinational student body and faculty, by making 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.
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