German International School of Silicon Valley
| German International School of Silicon Valley | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
Mountain View, San Francisco, and Berkeley, California United States |
|
| Coordinates | 37°24′00″N 122°04′04″W / 37.400025°N 122.067736°W |
| Information | |
| Motto | The best of two worlds |
| Established | November 1999 |
| Opened | 2000 |
| Principal | Michael Koops |
| Grades | Preschool, K–12 |
| Website | www |
The German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV) is a school educating children from preschool to grade 12 using bilingual full immersion at sites in Mountain View, Berkeley and San Francisco in California. Students graduate the school with both the German International Abitur as well as the California High School Diploma. The school is accredited with the Western Association of Schools (WASC) as well as by the German government, thus allowing graduates to study in either the USA or Europe.
The school was founded in November 1999, with teaching beginning in February 2000, originally at a conference center in Redwood City. In July 2000, the school moved to the site of the former Whisman Elementary School in Mountain View.
Currently, the GISSV has close to 500 enrolled students at three locations: a preschool-grade 12 campus in Mountain View, a preschool-grade 9 campus in Berkeley, and a kindergarten-grade 5 campus in San Francisco. Its graduates qualify for both European and American universities. Primary languages spoken at home by GISSV students include English, German, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Korean, and Chinese. The school offers an academically rigorous, bilingual program with quality instructors and small class sizes and is unique in that it is one of only five recognized German foreign schools in the United States and the only one offering a High School Diploma on the West Coast. Advantages of being accredited as a German foreign school include report cards recognized in Germany, accredited diplomas (Abitur and High School Diploma), and ongoing support from the German government. The GISSV is a California non-profit corporation governed by a board of directors composed of both German and American volunteers and operated in accordance with the California non-profit corporation code and the GISSV bylaws.
United by a desire for a German and California accredited curriculum, six German and American families formed and incorporated the German School of Silicon Valley (GSSV) in November 1999. Instruction began in February 2000 with 34 students. In July 2000, the school moved to the site of the former Whisman Elementary School in Mountain View and two years later, the GSSV obtained a 20-year lease with the city of Mountain View. In 2003, the GSSV officially changed its name to the German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV) to better reflect the school’s multicultural and multi-ethnic student body combined with a pioneering multilingual school concept with the goal of serving Preschool through Grade 12 with the Abitur, while also fulfilling the requirements for a Californian High School Diploma.
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