German International School of Silicon Valley

Entrance to the German International School Mountain View campus

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 and San Francisco in California.^[1] Students graduate the school with both the German International Abitur and the California High School Diploma. The school is accredited with the Western Association of Schools (WASC) as well as the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and by the German government (ZfA) as official German School Abroad (DAS = Deutsche Auslandsschule).

History

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 of 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 German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV) to better reflect the school’s multicultural and multiethnic 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.

GISSV's Berkeley Campus first opened in August of 2007, after a parent-led task force identified a number of families interested in German-English bilingual education in the East Bay. The parents teamed up with the existing GISSV in Mountain View and jointly embarked on opening a Berkeley campus as an extension of the existing Preschool-12 program - starting in Kensington, the school moved to the landmark Hillside Elementary School in Berkeley,^[2] in 2012. After moving to a new location in Emeryville in 2017, the school proceeded as a locally-managed, independent school starting in the 2018/19 school year.

After significant interest and support from parents in the City, GISSV also opened a bilingual campus in San Francisco. The San Francisco Campus is located in the Presidio and officially opened in August 2011. This campus started with a Kindergarten class in 2011, with one grade being added per year to establish a full K-8 program in the 2019/20 school year.

Locations

• Mountain View, California
• San Francisco Presidio, California
• 2007-2018: Berkeley/East Bay campus - Operating as an independent school starting in the 2018/19 school year,^[3] called the East Bay German International School (EBGIS)^[4] at the Ex-Anna Yates School in Emeryville.

References