American International School of Bucharest Turns 50

The 50th Anniversary Alumni Reunion: alumni returned to Bucharest to see friends, celebrate, and approve the official by-laws of the AISB Alumni Association! Over 70 former students gathered on the Lake Herastrau promenade (photo: AISB/R. Fugarescu).

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How did the American International School of Bucharest (AISB) celebrate its 50th anniversary? We engaged, prepared, and inspired the community with a variety of special events, service projects, parties, assemblies, guest speakers, and more. You only turn 50 once, even if you are a Vampire; so it is important to celebrate not only where you are going but how you got there.

In our case, it all happened like this: in 1962, U.S. Ambassador William Crawford and his wife Barbara, together with a handful of dedicated parents, dreamed of creating a quality English-language school in Bucharest. This was a time of Communist rule in Romania, so of course the students were primarily from diplomatic families. As Ambassador Crawford wrote in his memoirs, “In the period immediately following World War II, our diplomatic missions in Moscow, Warsaw, Prague, and Belgrade all reestablished elementary schools of their own dating back to the prewar years. Our only missions in Eastern Europe without them were Bucharest and Sofia.

“During a visit to Bucharest in 1955, I had noted that the lack of any American school there presented a morale problem for children and parents alike. Mothers with children taught their own in their own fashion, at the loss of much time and energy, and with mixed results. There was general dissatisfaction with the prevailing situation compromising rapport between families and among children,” he concluded.

So it was that the American School of Bucharest (ASB) was born and opened its doors to six students in September 1962. The past 50 years have seen a revolution, devastating earthquakes, a major building expansion, adoption of the Vampire mascot, a name change (to AISB), adoption of the International Baccalaureate (we are now an IB World School), and extraordinary enrollment growth.

With all this to celebrate we started our 50th Anniversary Celebrations early—as soon as school started! “Marking this milestone in our school’s history is as much about our future as it is about our past,” explained David Ottaviano, Director of AISB. “By celebrating the past we affirm our foundation: an educationally challenging school that inspires students to reach their full potential to become responsible global citizens.”

With current enrollment over 830 and students from 55 nationalities, AISB has not only grown significantly over the past 50 years, it has outgrown its purpose-built facilities. As we look ahead to the next 50 years, we have a major expansion plan to look forward to in order to serve the educational needs of a growing region of the European Union.

Ms. Wells is Director of Admissions and Advancement at AISB.

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