German International School?

[Anonymous]

We are a monolingual English family interested in giving our child German fluency and the ability to attend a German university if they later wish to do so, in order to take advantage of family connections in Germany. We were looking at the German International School but are concerned that their German would not be good enough to attend (they would be entering late elementary with only very rudimentary German). Also, I see many comments here on DCUM basically trashing the school, which is a concern even though I know DCUM can be very one-sided.

Thoughts on the school? Our standard for comparison is not whether the school is perfect but whether it would offer a better all-around experience than the public schools for a family in our situation.

[Anonymous]

Following

[Anonymous]

I don’t know specifics but I would suggest you get a German au pair and try online language tutoring now so when you apply the language base is stronger and the child can get reinforcement at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know specifics but I would suggest you get a German au pair and try online language tutoring now so when you apply the language base is stronger and the child can get reinforcement at home.

It’s a German school that happens to be based in the US. This means that they will not teach your child the language especially if they enter this late. The assumption is that they speak and write it when they arrive. I would not recommend it unless your kid is fluent and one parent can support at hone. How in earth do you expect your student to write the equivalent of AP Lit essays in German?

They will not tell you this, but I’ve seen quite a few American families in your situation fall for the marketing and then leave again after a couple of years.
Note that they have been stretched financially for years and would have folded a long time ago if it were not for the steady stream of embassy funds and diplomat kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know specifics but I would suggest you get a German au pair and try online language tutoring now so when you apply the language base is stronger and the child can get reinforcement at home.

It’s a German school that happens to be based in the US. This means that they will not teach your child the language especially if they enter this late. The assumption is that they speak and write it when they arrive. I would not recommend it unless your kid is fluent and one parent can support at hone. How in earth do you expect your student to write the equivalent of AP Lit essays in German?

They will not tell you this, but I’ve seen quite a few American families in your situation fall for the marketing and then leave again after a couple of years.
Note that they have been stretched financially for years and would have folded a long time ago if it were not for the steady stream of embassy funds and diplomat kids.

What marketing? Would the school misinform a family that they are appropriate for an elementary school child with minimal German skills on entry? That’s very bad if so

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you're in Maryland, OP, but FWIW Fairfax County has a German immersion program at Orange Hunt. I don't know if other school districts have similar programs, but it might be worth looking into where you are if you're not sure about the German International School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know specifics but I would suggest you get a German au pair and try online language tutoring now so when you apply the language base is stronger and the child can get reinforcement at home.

It’s a German school that happens to be based in the US. This means that they will not teach your child the language especially if they enter this late. The assumption is that they speak and write it when they arrive. I would not recommend it unless your kid is fluent and one parent can support at hone. How in earth do you expect your student to write the equivalent of AP Lit essays in German?

They will not tell you this, but I’ve seen quite a few American families in your situation fall for the marketing and then leave again after a couple of years.
Note that they have been stretched financially for years and would have folded a long time ago if it were not for the steady stream of embassy funds and diplomat kids.

What marketing? Would the school misinform a family that they are appropriate for an elementary school child with minimal German skills on entry? That’s very bad if so[/

It started being marketed as an international school about 7-8 years ago when there was a cut in funding. Tuition rose significantly, a lot of local bilingual families left, and embassy folks with younger kids started preferring their public elementaries so that their kids could become fluent in English. There was then a wave of non- German speakers that enrolled at the school, which had predictable results. Those kids never learned German properly as the unofficial language begann tilting towards English. The curriculum more or less stayed the same, so I have no idea how those kids actually understood anything. Most of them left after a few years once grades started to matter, but there’s been a steady stream of newcomers every year to repeat the cycle. Not surprisingly, standards are significantly lower compared schools in Germany, which has driven German families - expats and locals - from the school. It’s a mess.

[Anonymous]

I don't know this specific school and I live in Germany, not DC, but I taught for a year at the German International School in another major East Coast US city. All German International Schools abroad follow the same curriculum standards (state of Thuringia), so I can't imagine the German International School in DC is much different from the one where I taught.

The truth: many German families in the area were unhappy with the school and chose to put their children in other local private or public schools.

The German school was small and cash-strapped, so had to accept every German child who applied. This meant many behaviour and SEN issues, and the staff did not have the support or resources to fully support them. It drove down the quality of education for all. In addition, the school was desperately attempting to attract non-German kids to raise funds, but the truth was that unless they started in kindergarten, they never really became fluent enough to have a chance at the Abitur.

As for the non Germans who started when they were little, their German wasn't as good as that of the native German kids, and as they got older, the difference between kids from non-German speaking kids got more noticeable. And teachers found it difficult to work with non-German speaking parents who couldn't help with homework. Even the American kids who best adapted to the German language at the school were less likely to do the Abitur than they would have been if their parents spoke German at home.

So I would say no. If the GIS in DC is the same as the one where I worked, I would not advise that you apply.

[Anonymous]

OP, I would not go based on these posts who clearly have nothing specific to say about the GIS here in DC. Best to call the school and ask if you could be put in touch with any families who do not speak German at home. That will give you real perspective rather than someone posting about a different school altogether.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Current bilingual family here. We’re happy with the academic level and have not noticed behavior problems or just „anyone being accepted“ as the PP mentioned. It is certainly self selective and the vast majority of kids in later elementary are bilingual or German households. Unless you are very highly motivated and are willing to employ a German Aupair and/or near daily tutor to help with German I would not advise the school. They have numerous extra classes to help kids with their German but it is not meant for total beginners. The few non German households I see in our kids classes struggle. There are of course exceptions. The German families who leave the school are typically leaving because they want their kids to be immersed in English and not because of the academic level of GISW. All classes at GISW except for English are taught in German.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would not go based on these posts who clearly have nothing specific to say about the GIS here in DC. Best to call the school and ask if you could be put in touch with any families who do not speak German at home. That will give you real perspective rather than someone posting about a different school altogether.

Good luck!

Actually, I commented twice earlier, based on multiple years of experience at the school. GISW will, of course, tell potential applicant families that they can support families that do not have a German speaker at home. They desperately need the funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know this specific school and I live in Germany, not DC, but I taught for a year at the German International School in another major East Coast US city. All German International Schools abroad follow the same curriculum standards (state of Thuringia), so I can't imagine the German International School in DC is much different from the one where I taught.

The truth: many German families in the area were unhappy with the school and chose to put their children in other local private or public schools.

The German school was small and cash-strapped, so had to accept every German child who applied. This meant many behaviour and SEN issues, and the staff did not have the support or resources to fully support them. It drove down the quality of education for all. In addition, the school was desperately attempting to attract non-German kids to raise funds, but the truth was that unless they started in kindergarten, they never really became fluent enough to have a chance at the Abitur.

As for the non Germans who started when they were little, their German wasn't as good as that of the native German kids, and as they got older, the difference between kids from non-German speaking kids got more noticeable. And teachers found it difficult to work with non-German speaking parents who couldn't help with homework. Even the American kids who best adapted to the German language at the school were less likely to do the Abitur than they would have been if their parents spoke German at home.

So I would say no. If the GIS in DC is the same as the one where I worked, I would not advise that you apply.

PP here. Yes, this mirrors our experience at the GISW perfectly. I suspect you were at one of the NYC area schools.. :o) I have friends who had kids at both; we compared notes for years and noticed that the challenges were almost identical to those that drove us from GISW. The discipline issues and race to the bottom ultimately pushed us to leave.

To the other poster who is still at GISW: I have heard from multiple embassy and Bundeswehr folks over the years that their kids, who had received solid grades at GISW, struggled academically when they returned to Germany because the GSIW has had to water down its curriculum so much. Check out the sample lessons taken from the 4th and 5th grade curriculum at the Deutsche Fernschule website - there is no way that most students at GISW would be able to do this to Gymnasium-ready standards in e.g. Bavaria or Saxony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current bilingual family here. We’re happy with the academic level and have not noticed behavior problems or just „anyone being accepted“ as the PP mentioned. It is certainly self selective and the vast majority of kids in later elementary are bilingual or German households. Unless you are very highly motivated and are willing to employ a German Aupair and/or near daily tutor to help with German I would not advise the school. They have numerous extra classes to help kids with their German but it is not meant for total beginners. The few non German households I see in our kids classes struggle. There are of course exceptions. The German families who leave the school are typically leaving because they want their kids to be immersed in English and not because of the academic level of GISW. All classes at GISW except for English are taught in German.

I am that PP. You wouldn't have noticed because we were great with smoke and mirrors talk and presentation to parents. Sorry, but it's true. We didn't have chair-throwers, just a lot of low level SEN that went unsupported, as well as American kids whose parents believed their children were fluent in German, and altogether this resulted in a fairly non-rigorous experience for all. I'm back in Germany now, and the difference between kids who went to German school in Germany and those from the German International School where I taught in the US is significant. I feel bad for German expat kids who had to spend formative years at the German International School and then returned to Germany to realise they were behind their peers.

Believe what you want. I have no reason now to lie. But when I was teaching at the German International School, most parents were easily fleeced by our charismatic principal. It wasn't an excellent education for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current bilingual family here. We’re happy with the academic level and have not noticed behavior problems or just „anyone being accepted“ as the PP mentioned. It is certainly self selective and the vast majority of kids in later elementary are bilingual or German households. Unless you are very highly motivated and are willing to employ a German Aupair and/or near daily tutor to help with German I would not advise the school. They have numerous extra classes to help kids with their German but it is not meant for total beginners. The few non German households I see in our kids classes struggle. There are of course exceptions. The German families who leave the school are typically leaving because they want their kids to be immersed in English and not because of the academic level of GISW. All classes at GISW except for English are taught in German.

I am that PP. You wouldn't have noticed because we were great with smoke and mirrors talk and presentation to parents. Sorry, but it's true. We didn't have chair-throwers, just a lot of low level SEN that went unsupported, as well as American kids whose parents believed their children were fluent in German, and altogether this resulted in a fairly non-rigorous experience for all. I'm back in Germany now, and the difference between kids who went to German school in Germany and those from the German International School where I taught in the US is significant. I feel bad for German expat kids who had to spend formative years at the German International School and then returned to Germany to realise they were behind their peers.

Believe what you want. I have no reason now to lie. But when I was teaching at the German International School, most parents were easily fleeced by our charismatic principal. It wasn't an excellent education for anyone.

Other PP with direct parental experience of the GSIW and indirect knowledge of the NYC-area German schools here. Thank you for your honest reflection! This is exactly why we left the GISW. Luckily it was early on in our kids’ academic careers and we were able to make up the gaps in their education. To others: beware!

[Anonymous]

I cannot comment on the GISW, but have had 6 au pairs from Germany in our home over 8 years. One of them would have tutored children in German and probably never complained, but a few of them told me they turned down families where parents wanted them to speak exclusively in German to the kids. Most of the German au pairs come to the States to improve their English, their university admissions, and their job prospects. Probably willing to bear through the homesickness of being in a English language household in the first months if the trade off is enhanced English skills after a year.