German International School of Silicon Valley

Both my children are attending GISSV Berkeley and I am very satisfied with this choice. The student teacher ratio is great and the quality of teaching staff is superb. Each teacher is highly qualified and genuinely interested in reaching every student individually. Whenever I have a conversation with one of the staff about my children I feel they genuinely know my children wich is very important to me. An other important aspect is that the teachers are actually welcoming conversation and open to a relationship with the parents. In short GISSV Berkeley meets not only my academic standard but I also feel part of a community where my and my children’s voice is being heard.

What is a Chinese-​American writing a review about German International School Silicon Valley (GISSV)?
GISSV was called Hillside Elementary School, part of the Berkeley Unified School District, until 2012, when GISSV purchased the property.
My parents and 3 children moved from the Berkeley flatlands to the Berkeley hills in 1962. I attended Hillside 5^th grade, remembering the moment JFK was assassinated in 1963, when I was in 6^th grade.
Recently they held a 50^th reunion for Hillside school graduates at the school.
Parking is a pain in the Berkeley hills, with steep residential streets surrounding the school. The building is covered with scaffolding, which my wife was critical of, being an Industrial Hygienist at Lawrence Livermore. GISSV is undergoing earthquake proof retrofitting, with major construction. .
We go up the dark wooden stairs –no handicap accessible elevators here — with signs in both English and German, although I know enough German from Hollywood movies to figure out what the signs say.
There were two classes, each of about 35 people, so 70 people in all. About 40 classmates made it. Some 30 people were unaccounted for. Very few people in the social media –maybe 7 in Facebook, and 3 in Unilocal.Not too many seniors in these social media nowadays, and those on Facebook posting grandkid pictures!
This was a pot luck luncheon, and we were told to dress casual. I was one of only two men in shorts and sandals, while almost everyone else wearing jeans, or khakis –too vain to show those varicose veins on their legs at their advanced age! Got to show off my men’s Chaco sandals, having ditched the women’s Chaco sandals. Don’t want to give the wrong impression.
Met all my classmates, now old farts like myself, although I was one of the very few with my natural color hair –almost everyone else had white, gray or dyed hair, with a few of the men wearing baseball caps to hide their bald spots.-not rich enough to afford a Donald Trump toupee!
Easy to recognize me –one of only 3 Asians in the class –everyone else was lily white in those days before bussing for integration. Many of my classmates had parents who were affiliated with the University, as teachers, professors, etc.
Met Rod B, my closest school friend, Dan P, the best kick baller in the class, Libby J, Nancy S, Duncan S, the only other Unilocaler there. Everyone was taller than me in 6^th grade, and remain taller than me in our senior ages. Lots of memories of our teachers, Mr. Nielson and Mr. Van der Ent, and the principal Mr. Blitz –yeah a lot of northern European last names.
I brought the 24 ounce cooked Norwegian salmon, $ 20 via Costco. When you have a pot luck like this, everyone brings salads and pasta dishes, and maybe some meat appetizer dishes. So my salmon went like hot cakes, and was gone probably before half the people in line got to it!
We sat at our table with Duncan S, who talked about tennis, and common friends, while watching slide projections of pictures from the old days.
Tables seem to split up by men and women separately, with the unaccompanied women having their own table, and one table with a family and 3 toddlers –nobody sitting with them!
Afterwards, a group picture outside on the jungle gym.
Thank you Elizabeth T, and Nancy S for organizing this, Rob B for cleanup, and GISSV for renting out the auditorium to us to use for this memorable occasion. We will be back in May 2016 for the 90^th anniversary of Hillside school!

This is an amazing school. My children have gone here for 3 years. I am not German, and I don’t speak German. My children, however, are now fluent German and English speakers and readers. A great, diverse community of families from around the world – including a great many non-​Germans. Very dedicated, energetic, fun teachers. An extremely low student teacher ratio; interesting diverse parents; including several world famous academics, to artists, to professionals, to blue-​collar workers and tradespeople – folks from all economic classes. A relatively low tuition, and none of the high pressure tactics, guilt trip, to get parents to donate much more money that I experienced with another child at another well known private school. The kids start a 3^rd language in 5^th grade, and by graduation (if you go all the way through GISSV in Mountain View), will speak at least 3 languages fluently and have a degree that can be used in the US or EU. I can’t recommend it enough.

We have two children at the German School (3^rd grade and kindergarten). Our oldest has been at the German School since he started kindergarten. Our family is American, but we were interested in a bilingual education for our kids. Our third grader speaks German now and our kindergartner is quickly picking up German. They love their school friends and teachers and are happy to go to school every morning. The school is the perfect combination of a rigorous education combined with fun and, yes, even flexibility. Because the classes are small and also because of the teaching philosophy, the school can really cater to each child’s needs. The communication I receive from the teachers is excellent. If there is an issue with my child, I know about it as soon as it arises and am able to work with the teachers to help resolve it.
The teaching philosophy very much encourages the children to ask questions and discover the joy of learning. It is not what one might expect as «typical German» unless you realize that Waldorf and Montessori are popular in Germany.
An additional bonus of the school is the school community. We have made many good friends at the school — adults and kids. The community is quite diverse. For example there are a handful of families from non-​German speaking countries. The occupations of the parents are also very diverse, especially for a private school. This diversity has a positive impact on the children and the school community.
The only downside of the school is that it is located quite a distance from our home. As the school is growing, they hope to move soon. They may even have a new location by next year. This new location, if it works out, would not only be big and beautiful (a historic landmark) but also closer for us (and for many families).

Our children are now in 2^nd and 4^th grade and have had a fantastic experience growing up in the German system. With classes smaller than 10 students, each child really gets the support they need. For example, there are extra lessons in the second language for those who are stronger in either English or German, and all the kids get comfortable in either language very quickly, even if they’ve just moved from Germany or have been brought up in the States without any German.
With such small class sizes, the kids really have to get on with everyone, and if they can’t then the problem is greater than with a typical 25 – 30 student class where they can split into smaller factions. I think for some that might be a negative, but for me it’s a positive — it really teaches them that they have to get along with everyone.
We are really hoping the school extends to 8^th grade (currently it’s K-​5 only, but extending it is under consideration).

We have been sorely dissappointed with GISSV. Despite speaking numerous times with teachers and an administrator their attitude for dealing with bullying is to simply let even the youngest kids work it out completely on their own. They don’t seem to have an understanding of when it is needed for teachers to intervene in situations that are damaging to kids. I am all for teaching kids assertiveness, but there is no teaching or guiding going on (except from me the parent). I am hoping that some new teachers this year will make a difference, but I believe that the awareness and anti-​bullying strategies and policies really need to start with the administration. Bullying has been ignored and minimized long enough. It’s sad that GISSV does not take it seriously.

We have two children in the GISSV Berkeley Campus, an off-​shot of the larger GISSV campus in Mountain View. Both children (K and 2^nd class) love their school. As a bilingual family it was important for us that our children receive a good academic education that does not neglect one of their languages, but offers an integrated system where languages are more than an afternoon club activity. At GISSV the bilingual concept is tried and tested and seems to work for children from bilingual or monolingual backgrounds. The class sizes are small leaving room for one-​on-​one as well as group work. The school has wonderful teachers that are truly dedicated to the kids and bilingual education. We are very happy with the academic standard and music and theatre projects during the school year. Tuition is lower than in comparable settings — what more to ask for?

My child is currently attending 1^st grade at the Berkeley Campus of the German International School. He started Kindergarten last year and has been the happiest child ever since. My husband is American and I am German so our son grew up with both languages. However, at least three kids in his class have American-​only parents and I have to say that I am amazed how well their German has become since they started K-​Class. Despite the fact that they didn’t speak a word of German before, they now understand everything and are already pretty fluent in speaking it as well.
Small class sizes (between 8 – 10 kids with 2 – 3 teachers in K-​Class) allow the teachers to pay close attention to each individual child, be it the weakest or strongest student of the class. The program is playful in K-​Class and becomes even more creative and very educational in the lower grades.
Kids are provided a high-​standard bilingual education and now that my son has started 1^st grade, I am very happy to see that English, taught by a native English teacher, and the German education go side by side … reading and writing … and playing and exploring. The best of two worlds!
And if you have done some research about school education, you have probably already found out that the tuition of GISSV is actually on the lower end, compared to other private bi-​lingual schools.