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| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
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Angelika After five years at the Burkard School located in San Mateo, south of San Francisco, I thought it was time for something new and applied for a position in special education at the German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV). I got the job and have been working there since August as an inclusion specialist, which means I look after children who need additional support. I'm working in both the preschool and kindergarten areas, as well as in primary school. The German School has been around since 1999 and has grown steadily over time. There are now two locations: one in Mountain View on the Peninsula and another in San Francisco's Castro district, very close to our neighborhood. I'm working at both locations alternatingly, with four days a week spent in Mountain View, and one day in San Francisco, where I can easily get to by simply walkng to work over the hill.
The German School is a private school that charges tuition fees and is part of the group of approximately 140 worldwide German schools around the world that are overseen by Germany's federal foreign office. What sets it apart is that students can earn both a German diploma, such as the Abitur, and an American High School Diploma. It goes up to grade 12 and the curriculum follows that of the German state of Thuringia. The school is bilingual; in the classes for very young children and the kindergarten, there are two teachers in each classroom, one who speaks German and one who speaks English. During the first few years of primary school, however, the instruction is conducted solely in German, and English is offered as an elective subject. I am always fascinated by how effortlessly most children switch between languages, and I'm learning a lot by working in this setting.
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