Switzerland - Sending American children to school (life, cost, country)

[igorcarajo]

I have the possibility of relocating to Switzerland for work. Office would be in Zug. I have two kids ages 15 and 14. International school is out of the question as I don't have $70k per year to spend on that, and my company won't be offering me a fancy "expat" package (that's only for big wigs). It has to be public school. My kids don't know German. Anybody dealt with a similar situation? Any chance that a public school would teach them German for a year and then they can catch on with the rest of the students? They would finish school a year later than in the USA, but I can't think of much else. Thanks in advance.

[viribusunitis]

Usually kids in Zug have to attend German as a second language classes in addition to their regular curriculum (which is in German).

Children with insufficient knowledge of German
Children with insufficient knowledge of German attend lessons in German as a second language (Deutsch als Zweitsprache, DaZ) in addition to the mainstream lessons. In the beginner-level DaZ lessons or post-beginner DaZ lessons, the students are supported integratively or separately, with the goal of making them increasingly capable of following lessons in the mainstream class. For students who have just moved to the area, DaZ classes may be run in the first year.

https://www.zg.ch/behoerden/direktio.../special-needs

As long as your kids don't speak German well enough, they won't receive any grades but just a written report about their performance in school. After 2 to 3 semesters they'll know German well enough to be graded.

That said, you'll be able to discuss everything with the school in person.

https://www.zg.ch/behoerden/direktio...daz-unterricht

This is literally the only information I could find on this topic on the webpage of the Kanton. Kanton Zürich has a lot more details, but this information might not be applicable to Zug. I'd just ask the schools directly.

[irman]

Originally Posted by igorcarajo

I have the possibility of relocating to Switzerland for work. I have two kids ages 15 and 14. International school is out of the question as I don't have $70k per year to spend on that. It has to be public school. My kids don't know German. Anybody dealt with a similar situation? Any chance that a public school would teach them German for a year and then they can catch on with the rest of the students? They would finish school a year later than in the USA, but I can't think of much else. Thanks in advance.

Yes, I am pretty sure that your kids will be able to learn German by getting special *after school help*.
We were in a similar situation.
Except with our 5 kids, 4 of them, already spoke German (we lived in Germany for 8 years before).
Our youngest one was not as fluent, so she received after school instruction. All for free !
But ... , I am not sure if free in Zug. We lived in Canton Berne.

It will be bit harder on them due to their age, but I am sure they can learn !!
Again we had an advantage that when we came to Germany our oldest was 10 and our youngest was 4.
They learned to communicate within a few weeks !
So when we got to Switzerland, the older ones just had to get used to the local dialect ...

Do *you* speak German ? It would be advantageous if you did, so you can help your kids.

You did mention *you have the possibility*.
Never say never, but have you thought about, if it does go *bad*, like your kids have a really hard time to adjust, you can get them back to wherever you came from and have them live with your family or some other way.
I have been an expat many times and always had a clause in my contract that I could get back in case of my family not being able to adjust. What if ? Not cheap to send them back !!
It did happen to us the last time, not because the family could not cope, but because of some glitch in the rules of the country. We were planning in staying for at least 7 years ! So Family went back after 1.5 years and I stayed for two more.
With your oldest one at 15, how long are planning to stay there ? Find out what will happen to him/her when he/she gets to be 18 ?

Case in point.
On my last assignment, It would have been better if my family would have stayed Stateside, and then work out the contract that I would be able to get them to where I was on short vacations, or I could get home every three months or so ... In the long run, it would have cost less.
During our relatively short stay in Switzerland, I actually went back Stateside so many times it would have cost very little to get my family to Switzerland on short vacations.
I realise two households is expensive, but you have to take into account the well-being of your family !
One more thing --- Have you taken into account the true cost of living comparison between life in Switzerland and where you live now ?

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