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German Schools in California – Plan Ahead for School Year 2013/14

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German Schools in CALifornia – Send in your Application 

As the new year kicks off many schools are starting their application processes or are already in the midst of it. Language Immersion Schools are very sought after these days and its advisable to send in your application as soon as possible, or at least get your name on the waiting list.  If you have in mind for your child to attend a German language immersion school make sure you find out if there is a separate application procedure for native speakers.

At some immersion schools native speakers might have a slight advantage and a better chance to get a space since the school needs to have a certain percentage of  native speakers to offer a well-functioning language immersion program.

Apart from January’s application season many schools host also open houses for parents and students to check out their program and to see if it’s the right choice for them.

A Language Magnet School in Glendale

It’s nice to see that some parent groups are really active out there and engaged to keep German language programs going. One of these schools that can call itself lucky to have such an engaged parent volunteer body is the Franklin Magnet School in Glendale.

Franklin Magnet School – The International Foreign Language Academy of25 Glendale is offering several language immersion programs, German is one of them. Before the holidays the school had the honor of  German Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann visiting the students and presenting them with a check of nearly $6000 to support the German language program.

Anyone who is interested in applying to Franklin Magnet School’s immersion program is advised to send in applications immediately. The cut off date is January 25 at 4:30pm.

IF YOUR CHILD SPEAKS GERMAN, SCHEDULE A TIME FOR THE EXAM! WHERE: GUSD Magnet Office at 223 N. Jackson St., Glendale, CA 91206, PH:(818) 241-3111 ext 649.

For more information on the school and the application process see the following links:
Main GUSD Magnet Page: gusdelementarymagnet.org
Direct link to the application page: gusdmagnetandflag.com
Applications MUST be RECEIVED by the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD)  by January 25 at 4:30 p.m. !

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California’s Southland

Orange County International Academy  (OCI Academy) in Ladera Ranch has been introduced in our previous article on German Schools in CA. The school opened its doors not too long ago, and because of the high demand in its various immersion programs established a popular German immersion program in South County for grades Pre-K to K.

On January 7th  and 12th, 2013 from 10pm-1pm  OCI Academy’s Open House invites parents and students to check out the school and its academic program. Parents can meet the teachers, find out more about the curriculum and tour the school.  For questions please call the school at (949)-545-7487

The Albert Einstein Academies in San Diego had announced that the lottery process for applying to their school’s K – 8 grade has already started. The application deadline for K-5 is Feb 28, 2013 but for grades 6-8 it is already Jan 31, 2013. More information about the application procedure can be found at www.aeacs.org . Middle school has its new separate website at http://aeacms.org

Northern California Schools

GISSV – German International School of Silicon Valley offering a bilingual education from Preschool to University opened up a new campus in November 2012. The historic Hillside School of Berkeley became the school’s 3rd campus in the San Francisco Area. GISSV, which is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges” (WASC), offers the German International Abitur (DIAP), and the CA High School Diploma, which qualifies students for acceptance into European and American universities.

noname“The GISSV Berkeley campus, currently housing a mixed-age Kindergarten and grades 1 through 5, to be extended through grade 8 over time, is honored to make its permanent East Bay home in Berkeley.” The Grand Opening  Ceremonies were quite impressive with theGISSV Orchestra, performing “Music for the Royal Fireworks” by George Frideric Handel.

The Following Open House Dates for GISSV are offered:
Berkeley Campus, Preschool and Grades K-6
Upcoming Open House:
January 12, 2013 – 11am to 1pm
San Francisco Campus, Grades K-3
Group School Tours:
Every Tuesday from 9:30am to 10:30am during our enrollment season. Please contact admissions@gissv.org to register (registration required).
Upcoming tour dates for 2012/2013:
January 8 / January 15
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The German American International Schools (GAIS), another German immersion School in Silicon Valley which offers preschool through 8th grade,  has an information night on all sections of the school on January 8th at 8pm . The deadline to apply to the German American International School is already on Jan 14, 2013 (for new students only). To read their latest news, check out their online magazine .   

 
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Albert Einstein Academies – A German-English Immersion Charter School in San Diego

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The first school in our series on ‘German Schools in California’ is in San Diego. It is the Albert Einstein Academies, located in Southpark near Balboa Park with its many museums. 

From the outside looking like one of many other public schools there is nothing that suggests that this building hosts quite a different version of an American public school until one enters the school’s premises, and suddenly is greeted by murals depicting German “Fachwerkhäuser” and a “Brezen Bäckerei”.

Albert Einstein Academies, a Public Charter School, is one of only three schools in California that offer a K through 8 International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum, but the only one that offers a German-English immersion within this IB program . Since 2008 Albert Einstein Academies is also an official German Partner School (PASCH).

All the fabulous education this school has to offer is free!

Having started out in 2002 with only 24 students and in rented rooms of a church, the school has grown into over 800 students and is slowly growing out of its present school site. Initially just an elementary school, Albert Einstein Academies now offers also a middle school and is working on expanding into a High School as well.

The school has become very sought after in San Diego for its high academic standards, and since there is no school tuition for public schools, it makes the school evermore attractive! So if you live in the San Diego Unified school district, consider yourself lucky since you at least can apply to this popular school via an official lottery.

Birgit Schafer, elementary language coordinator at Albert Einstein Academies, is one of the school’s true veterans. She has witnessed the school’s growth since the very beginning. Her son was one of the first students to start first grade with only 24 other registered students at the newly opened school.  “We have just grown exponentially over the past years, and our success shows that we are on the right track. With our 9 out of 10 Academic Performance Index (API) we are among the top ten schools in the district wide ranking!”  says Mrs. Schafer. Applying to the school has become highly competitive and the waiting list is long. “We have about 300 children every year who we have to put on a waiting list” points out Mrs. Schafer. An official public lottery decides on the final admissions.

Priority is given to German-speaking students, but the selection process stays competitive also for them.

In order to guarantee the dual immersion program with the German language, the school is officially allowed to fill 25% of their over all applications from a pool of German-speaking applicants. You might therefore have a slight admission’s advantage if your child speaks German. But since applications by German speakers have equally increased over the years, a lottery makes the final decision also here. To be admitted into the pool of German speakers, students have to pass a special test that will determine German language fluency.  “This testing is difficult particularly for the younger children who are often shy”, so Mrs. Schafer, “but for an immersion school like ours, it is important to have fluent and native speakers in all classes. They are speech models in the immersion classes.” She further points out that, since the children not only learn speaking German through classroom instruction, but also from interaction with each other, it is critical to have a certain amount of German-speaking children in a class.

Walking through the school and visiting some classrooms I am in fact impressed by how much the German language is present in every classroom. This is particularly visible in the elementary classes K-5 where the dual immersion program guarantees that  “50 percent of the total instruction time including core subject instruction is taught exclusively in the German language” (ABE website). The instruction alternates between German and English on a weekly basis and is continuous.

Options for students planning to enter Albert Einstein Academies  at a higher grade level but speak little to no German.

The school has incorporated a “Foreign Language Pathway” class that academically goes along with the three regular German immersion classes in a particular grade level. Available from third grade on the “Foreign Language Pathway” class makes it not only possible for non-German speakers to join the school at a later time, but it also gives current students of an immersion class the option to withdraw from the immersion part, but still stay at the school, and enjoy the benefits of the unique IB program and an international community.

While the IB program continues throughout Middle School the Dual Immersion does not. In Middle School (6-8 grade), the students actually can decide on which language they would like to concentrate on, and can pick between German or Spanish. At the moment 220 of the 300 middle school children chose to continue with German while 80 students went on to study Spanish. To further deepen language skills in either language the school has a foreign language exchange program in place with a Gymnasium (High School) in Germany and a High School in Mexico.

But that’s not all.

Apart from the extraordinary language immersion opportunity for children, Albert Einstein Academies offers a well-rounded curriculum along the guidelines of the IB program incorporating California State Academic Standards. In addition to that an extensive after school program encourages all students to get involved in many other learning opportunities. From German Drama & Choir to German Soccer, Spanish Club, Mad Science, martial arts, yoga and much more. Special  workshops sponsored by the “Friends of Albert Einstein’s German Cultural Commitee” offer additional cultural immersion into Easter, Christmas and other German traditions.

Last personal impressions…

All the classrooms I visit have a very inviting, friendly learning atmosphere.  I admire one page essays by first-graders on the topic “Frühling”, written in such perfect German that I start wondering if I accidentally got lost in a second grade class.  Many of the classrooms feature a piano and as I am glancing at one of the music sheets I recall my own elementary school years learning songs like “Brüderchen komm tanz mit mir…” Another class displays projects on ‘life cycles’ and a 3rd grade made a collage on the topic “Umweltverschmutzung” (pollution).

Albert Einstein Academies  – definitely a school worth checking out!

Albert Einstein Academies (AEA) in short:

  • Tuition-free public charter school with dual language immersion in German-English
  • Accredited IB World School offering the IB program from K through 8th grade
  • Official German Partner School (PASCH) since 2008. The title is awarded by the German federal department of schools abroad a  PASH Model School
  • Admission to the school is by official public lottery
  • Students wear school uniform
  • AEA prepares for the German language diploma level A2 in 5th grade & level B1 in 8th grade
  • School features foreign exchange programs with Germany & Mexico in Middle School
  • Extensive German & English library on the school premises
  • Great catalog of after school activities offered 
  • Special German tutoring in place by German intern teachers
  • Special cultural enrichment assured through private foundation “Friends of Albert Einstein”

For more information visit the school’s website, http://www.aeacs.org or contact the school at:

Albert Einstein Academies
3035 Ash St.
San Diego, Ca. 92102
Phone: 619-795-1190
 

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