Gaeta ES/MS (formerly Joshua Barney School and Gaeta American School) History
Opened: 1967
Closed: 2008
Gaeta Elementary/Middle School was located in Gaeta, Italy. The Gaeta American School was originally named for Commodore Joshua Barney who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 6, 1759. The Commodore originally served in the French Navy and then the American Navy. The Gaeta American School was known as the Joshua Barney School until a movement in the mid-1980s by administration to easily identify DODDS schools as American entities. In 1967, when the first 170 students transferred from Villefranche’s Joshua Barney School, located in Nice, France, they were housed in space leased from an Italian school in Old Gaeta. Sometime between 1967 and 1970, the school was moved to the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Detachment’s longtime facility on Corso Italia, next to the Rock Garden Hotel. The school occupied the first, second and third floors of the detachment. The top floor consisted of Navy Administrative offices. The three floors of the building were soon not large enough to contain the school and classes spread out to leased portions of neighboring buildings. It became obvious that the building needed a space of its own.
Two school principals, Betty Filosa and Andy Caro, and two Commanding Officers coordinated the efforts that culminated in the inauguration of the three-story building that became the school facility on July 12, 1974. Many dignitaries attended the opening of the school. The ceremony was held in the parking lot in front of the main entry of the school. The Sixth Fleet played. The children and teachers presented a program, and a time capsule was placed behind a plaque on the left-hand wall by the entrance of the school.
The school served the dependents of the Sixth Fleet Command personnel, military contractors, and civilians. The school was a three-floor, ten-room modern school building which housed spacious school facilities. The basement of the school housed a large multipurpose room which was used for school assemblies and programs during the day and as a community theater at night. A large full-size gymnasium, which belonged to the 6th Fleet Command, was entered into through the school building and was used solely by the school during school hours. A six-lane bowling alley was located below the gym. The school and recreation center were approximately ten blocks from the center of town. The school in Gaeta originally served students in grades kindergarten through eight with the high school students attending school in Naples.
Mr. Andy Caro was the school principal from the early seventies through the 1980-81 school year.
The first school yearbook, The Seafarer, was published for the 1974-75 school year and the school newspaper was J.B. Jottings. The original school mascot was the panther. The school had yearly performances by the 6th Fleet band and chorus along with host nations excursions and holiday celebrations. There were over 275 students enrolled in grades kindergarten through eight.
In the 1981-82 school year, there were 325 students in grades kindergarten through eight. There were twelve staff members plus a learning disability/reading improvement specialist, a host nation teacher, a local national librarian, and three educational aides. The school principal was Clement Peterpaul, and he remained in this position for three years. Students were involved in sports through the local youth activities program and school intramurals.
The school’s name was changed to Gaeta Elementary School for the 1986-87 school year. During the 1987-88 school year, there were 300 students enrolled in the school with twelve teachers plus host nation, a speech therapist, and a combination learning disabilities and reading specialist. During that school year, the seventh and eighth graders were taught by a team of two teachers so a variety of course selections could be offered to all the students. The following school year the enrollment was 185 students K–8. There was one kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Additionally, there was a third/fourth grade combination class, a fifth/sixth combination, and a seventh/eight combination class. Dr. Harvey Getz was principal from August 1985 through January 1986 when Bruce Davis become the principal. Mr. Andy Caro returned to Gaeta as principal for two years: 1988-1990.
In the nineties, the enrollment remained consistent with about 150 students. A new playground was opened for the 1989-90 school year. Cathy Magni was principal from 1990 to 1992, followed by Bob Kirkpatrick from 1992 to 1998. During the mid-nineties, the school mascot became the dolphin, il Delfino in Italian, and the school colors were blue and white.
Gaeta American School had a strong community and parent relationships. In the first yearbook was written, “Mothers, mothers, everywhere! What would we have done without them! Hot Dog Day, Christmas Bazaar, Learning Disabilities Volunteers, P.E. Volunteers, Sick Room Volunteers, Pianist, Music Program directors, Cheerleading sponsor, etc. Help the kids, help the school, help the teachers! This was the attitude that dominated their everyday efforts and it was felt and appreciated by all.” This community commitment continued through the years. The school had a Mentor Program where volunteers from the COMSIXFLEET, LaSalle, NSA Gaeta Security and family members visited the school on a regular basis. The NSA Military Police sponsored the D.A.R.E. program where a D.A.R.E. officer conducted a seventeen-week program for middle school students. PTAS and the Gaeta Spouse Organizations contributed to and sponsored a variety of activities in the school such as a storyteller, an opera house performance, the spelling bee, geography bee, and other schoolwide events.
Essie Grant becamethe principal forthe 1998-99school yearand servedin thisposition for fiveyears. Inthe early2000sthere weretwenty-threestaffmembersattheschoolwithastudentenrollmentofapproximatelytwohundredtwentystudentsingradesKindergartenthroughsixth.The lasttwo principalswereTimEricksonandSandraDaniels.
The school was closed in 2008.
Information from Essie Grant, former principal, school yearbooks and DoDDS School Information Guides