Berkeley Parents Network: German International School

Berkeley Parents Network

German International School

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > German International School

www.gissv.org/

Feb 2008

Does anyone have information on/experience with the new German School in Berkeley? I'd like to enroll my son for some summer classes. I've called them and left a message but have not received a response. anon

I'm not sure which school you are referring to. I assume you mean the East Bay Campus of the German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV). The East Bay Campus opened last fall with a Kindergarten class. This fall they will have a Kindergarten and a 1st grade class. Our son is in the Kindergarten class and so far we are very happy with the school. As far as I know there are no plans for summer classes in Berkeley (at least not for this summer). Happy GISSV mom

My older daughter currently attends the K-program at the new German school and my younger daughter will be attending it in 2009. I find the K-program fantastic: The school emphasizes a developmentally appropriate curriculum using child appropriate educational projects. Within these projects they teach the children academic subjects, but also cognitive, social, and emotional skills. They do not teach to the test. They also have music and PE taught by teachers trained for the subject. The language of instruction is German but one day a week they have a special teacher running the program in English. My daughter is completely bilingual and loves the school. The parents are very involved as it is a small start-up school. I don't think they have a summer program yet. They do have summer classes at their main campus in Mountain View. When you call the main campus you should ask for the admission coordinator Nadja Spira. Ursula

Hi, My Name is Nadja and I am the Admissions Coordinator for the German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV) in Mountain View as well as in the East Bay. We successfully opened our East Bay Campus last year with a Kindergarten Class, and this upcoming school year we will have a Kindergarten Class and 1st Grade. We have had a great amount of interest with classes filling up quickly. Our parents are very active in showing their support for the school. By 2012 we plan to have reached our goal of a K-5 Campus. If anyone has question or would like information regarding our classes, please contact me directly via Email at nspira@gissv.org or by phone at 650-254- 0748. General School Information can also be found on our website at www.gissv.org.
GISSV admission coordinator

October 2007

My daughter is in her 3rd year of preschool at the Bay Area Kinderstube and I am considering sending her to the GISSV program for kindergarten to continue her exposure to German language acquisition. I hope some parents out there can provide some feedback/answer these questions for me.

How do current parents feel about the quality of the program? What is the daily schedule like for kindergarten? How many kids are in the class/what is the ratio between staff and child? Are there lots of holidays/school closures? How does the cost compare to other private kindergarten programs?

What kind of academic instruction are the children getting, how much is conducted in German and how much in English?

Is there a vehicle in place for parent input/involvement. Is there a Board of Directors, PTA?

If anyone can comment on these questions and/or share your experience so far, it would be much appreciated. Jennifer

My daughter also went to BAKS and now attends the new German immersion kindergarten. It has been operating since late August and so far I think it is a very good program. The quality of the program overall and the teaching in particular is fabulous. There are currently 12 children in the class with two teachers. There are two more teachers, one teaching English and Science one morning a week, one teacher for music.

The language of instruction is four mornings in German, one morning in English.

What strikes me is how engaged the teachers are, how they care for and try to support each child. The academics are embedded in child appropriate and very creative projects and a lot of focus is spent on social and emotional development. German language is not a requirement for entering K or 1st grade and students who donmt speak it get extra support from the teachers to catch up. My daughter loves her school and has never said anything else!

The cost is lower than other private schools as the German Government pays part of the teacherms salaries. They also have an after school program until 6:00 pm. The school is currently not offering childcare on school holidays. However, the PTA is approaching the school about it and I think they will offer it soon. There is a lot of parent involvement, being a new school, and there is an active PTA which organizes lotms of activities and brings needs to the attention of the school administration. GISSV parent

Our son is attending the GISSV East Bay Campus. So far we are very happy with the program. To answer your specific questions:

Quality of the program: Very high. As your daughter goes to Kinderstube, you are probably familar with the play-based approach. It feels very much like a somewhat more academic version of Kinderstube. They learn a lot but in a playful manner. They also do some really nice art and craft projects.

Schedule: Normal class is from 9 (drop-off starting at 8:30)to 2pm with an afterschool program until 6pm. They start with a circle time. After that the kids have the choice between two activities (they try to get about equal sized groups). After the first activity they have snack and then they do the activity they have not yet done (so everyone does the same). Then they eat lunch and finish with another circle. Although the teachers have a lesson plan for the week, they sometimes adjust it based on the needs or depending on something coming up.

There are currently 10 kids with one more starting later this month and another moving here from Germany around Christmas. There are usually two teachers in the classroom, so for the main activities of the day it's about five kids per teacher.

Holidays/school closures: There are a few more than in other schools. Currently there are not enough kids to make offering camps viable, but that might change in the future if more families need a place to put their kids during those times.

Cost: It's almost 10k$ per school year for the morning program. That's significantly cheaper than other private schools I've looked at.

Academic instruction: They are learning some math concepts, a lot of science and they have the ''letter of the week''. But it's all done in a playful manner. They also do a lot of art and craft projects.

Language: Mainly in german. The science teacher who comes in one day a week speaks primarily english with the kids (although she is german).

Parent input/PTA/etc.: A lot of those things are handled in Mountain View on the main campus. There are parent representatives at the Berkeley Campus. Most of the parent involvement centers around the local things (organising car pools for field trips, collecting money for a marble run etc., marketing for the East Bay Campus,...) that do not need to go via the main campus. Parents are required to work 20 hours per school year (driving a car pool for a field trip counts toward that). Ina

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