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Old 05-28-2010, 03:30 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,378 times
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We have 3 children (8, 5, 3) who attend an International School in Europe. The older two are bilingual in German and English. We are about to move to the Peninsula. We'd appreciate any insights about GISSV in Mountain View and GAIS in Menlo Park.
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Old 05-29-2010, 08:58 PM
 
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Default German Immersion

We just recently toured both schools and there are some definite differences in the overall 'feeling' I got from the schools as well as their direction:

GAIS: I liked this school very much - 75% German immersion - great preschool director with overall IB approach to learning environment. If IB diploma (school is Pre-K to 8th grade) is obtained it is equivalent to German Arbitur and 1 year American university courses.

GISSV: 50% immersion - This school is pre-k to high school and directs the children to earn the DAIP which is equivalent to the German Arbitur but has no American university or international equivalent therefore if you intend to give the children the option to apply to American universities then they have to concurrently work toward DAIP as well as AP classes and study for the SATs...this is very difficult and only about 4 students have done this per year since beginning...for our purposes this is redundant and unnecessary...

I liked the unpretentious, organic feel of GAIS which according to their papers pays off with above average student results in testing...they both are very willing to discuss the details of their programs...

Hope this might have been helpful!
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Old 05-30-2010, 02:47 PM
 
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Thank you very much for your insights. I assume you'd prefer GAIS.
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Old 05-30-2010, 07:53 PM
 
57 posts, read 124,540 times
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MovingWest2010,

Yes...we prefer GAIS, but it is definitely a personal decision and I recommend meeting or discussing details with both to see which is the best fit for you and your family. I think both of them had references of families and were very willing to communicate and answer any questions via e-mail. GISSV has a small satellite school in Berkeley so maybe check out Berkeley Parents Network to possibly gain some more insight if no one here has any more experiences with the schools.

Best of Luck to You!
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