Parent Testimonials

"We are really pleased with the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) at the School. In general, we think our kids are so much more creative and able to gather information from sources other than textbooks - mainly because the School fosters this approach which begins in Preschool where children are encouraged to take ordinary objects, such as old boxes, and transform them into very imaginative creations. Also, the way the IB program inspires students to do research on topics on their own is great, for example by going straight to the primary sources rather than looking for the answers on a given page of a textbook. We cannot believe the high-level of creativity and thought put into the essays and homework Fiona and Linus have done in their classes."
Dr. Tobias Meyer (Professor, Stanford University) and Dr. Mary Teruel (Senior Research Scientist, Stanford University), parents of students at the German-American International School.

 

Mr. Bill Evers, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and an adviser to President George W. Bush and the U.S. Department of Education, said: "Pamela switched from the German-American School in Menlo Park to Jordan Middle School (in the high-performing Palo Alto school district) during the middle of her 8th-grade year. She had begun the German-American School by taking 2 years of Kindergarten (an American would say she began in Pre-K or nursery school).

"Pamela was a good student at the German-American School, and she had no trouble making the transition to a demanding American public school. During the 2nd semester at Jordan (Pamela's first semester there), she received all A's.

"In thinking about Pamela's transfer to an American school, I was not worried about math and science, but I had some concerns about American history and English. Despite my worries, Pamela did well in these subjects in American middle school. Pamela is currently (Sept. 2002) a freshman at Palo Alto High School, where she is enrolled in German 5 Advanced Placement (which is easy for her) and is a teacher's aide for for the high school's German 2 class.

"The German-American School did a fine job preparing her academically, and I am grateful for the efforts of her teachers and the school's staff during the years she attended the German-American School."

 

Dr. Maria Wabl, mother of Chiara and Selina (both at the German-American International School), about her son Raphael: "My son Raphael attended the German-American School from 1st through 8th grade, with German as the language spoken at home. While we were always convinced about the high academic standards of the German-American School, we were thrilled by how well our son has been prepared for future academic endeavors. He was accepted at the best and most prestigious high schools in San Francisco without any difficulties and could choose which school suited him best for his high school years. He decided to attend Lake Wilmading High School."

 

"We first chose the German American School due to the German language immersion. My husband's family is Pennsylvania-German and also lived in Austria during his childhood. He was interested in having our daughters learn the language and culture. I appreciated the developmental approach of the kindergarten--not a common approach in this age of "Early Academics".
We are now in our 7th year at the school. We have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, and a Kindergartener. All of our children speak German as a "native" language. The older two are equally at home in either language in speaking, reading, and writing. We are highly impressed with the academics, specifically math. We appreciate the integration of the arts in that the children take art, music, woodworking, and textile crafts. The small classes, family-like atmosphere, and caring faculty have also been key factors in our decision to keep our children at the German American School."

-- Angela Brenneman

 

 

"Why did you choose the German American International School over another school? What were the determining factors to come to our School?"

"Two things. First, there is the cost of education: there is good evidence that students learn better when they are in smaller groups. For the price, the German American school has the lowest student/teacher ratio in the Bay Area. For comparison, we could have sent our daughter to a Catholic school for a similar or lower price. However, these schools typically have 30-35 students per teacher. Our daughter has been in a class of approximately 15 students per teacher for the 7 years she has been at the school.

"The second reason that convinced us is that sending our daughter to the German American school allows us more options as she grows older. We have good evidence from individual families at the school that the children from the German American school receive a good education and can seamlessly integrate into either an American school or a German school (in Germany) at any time in their educational career. Thus, we have always had the option to take our daughter out of the school. However, she is receiving a quality education, learning about another culture and language in a way that is not available in an American school, and is proud that she can speak another language. So, why would we ever want to switch now?"

-- Dr. Stephen Fuselier and Ms. Elizabeth Packer

 

Contact telephone numbers for these references are available from the school administration.