The Foreign Service Journal, June 2009

70 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 9 stablished in 1964, the Office of Over- seas Schools coordinates and administers the Department of State’s Overseas Schools Assistance Program. A/OPR/OS works to ensure that the best possible educational opportunities are available for dependents of U.S. government per- sonnel while stationed abroad. While the office’s primary goal in supporting schools abroad is to promote quality, American-style educational op- portunities, it also increases mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those from other coun- tries through its assistance to overseas schools by demon- strating American educational ideas, principles and methods. The schools A/OPR/OS assists are independent, non- profit and nondenominational. In most cases, they were established on a cooperative basis by U.S. citizens residing in foreign communities. The schools vary widely in histor- ical background, size and complexity, ranging from tiny pri- mary schools with fewer than a dozen students to large K-12 schools with enrollments approaching 4,000. The Department of State does not operate these schools; instead, ownership and policy control are typically in the hands of parent associations that elect school boards. The boards then develop school policies and select admin- istrators, who oversee day-to-day operations. The makeup of the student body at these schools is in- ternational. Of the 121,970 students currently enrolled, 27 percent are U.S. citizens, 29 percent are host-country citi- zens and 44 percent are third-country citizens. To assist the schools, A/OPR/OS allocates money through grants, most commonly for salary support for U.S. citizens who have been trained in the U.S. as administra- tors, educators and other educational personnel; for Amer- ican educational material and equipment; and for in-service training for both staff and faculty. The safety of American children attending overseas schools is of vital concern to the State Department. To this end, the department has provided security-enhancement grants totaling $80.4 million to 538 schools. Some of the se- curity enhancements that are now in place at schools in- clude shatter-resistant window film, public address systems, emergency radios, security walls, bollards, gate systems and other physical security upgrades. These grants are part of the Soft Target Initiative launched in response to congres- sional concerns over the security of U.S. citizens living abroad. REOs Are the Backbone The Office of Overseas Schools draws its professional staff from public school systems, universities, foreign aid education programs and from overseas schools themselves. Six Regional Education Officers, each assigned a specific geographic region, are the backbone of A/OPR/OS. Some of the issues the REOs deal with include the adequacy of schools; accreditation; the opening of new facilities; and programs for children with special needs. On any given day the REOs can be found advising par- ents on the availability of educational opportunities over- A V ITAL P OINT OF C ONTACT : T HE O FFICE OF O VERSEAS S CHOOLS B Y K RISTIN G RASSO AND C AROL S UTHERLAND E S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Continued on page 74 Carol Sutherland is the Office of Overseas Schools’ informa- tion coordinator; Kristin Grasso is associate information co- ordinator.