German ISD offers the only German Immersion Program in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. We believe that the ability to speak more than one language fluently creates the leaders of tomorrow who will navigate and communicate in a culturally rich and globally focused world. German ISD’s follows the guidelines of the Reggio Emilia approach as well as the “Bayerischer Bildungs- und Erziehungsplan”.
We are a proud member of the The North American Reggio Emilia Alliance. Further information you will find here.
As part of our German language focus, we recognize various German holidays. As our families represent many different nationalities, we regularly integrate cultural and language diversity into our learning in addition to traditional American school holiday traditions.
From day one, students are exposed to German language and culture in a warm and supportive environment. Small class sizes offer individualized learning and foster curiosity, identity, and individual purpose.
“German ISD offers a learning environment focused on the innovative development of the whole child from ages 12 months to Elementary age. Through complete German language immersion and acquisition, we foster independence and nurture practical life skills, emotional and social development, and create foundational learning experiences. Our classrooms provide a knowledge-rich environment designed for child-led and play-based exploration.”
German ISD’s educators are masters of teaching with a strong belief in the European education philosophies. The most precious parts of a child’s early educational development is influenced by their trained German teachers. Our certified team of educators present the materials and programs – all of which are developed in Germany – in an enthusiastic manner with the goal to instill a hunger in their students to learn more independently every day. The way German ISD’s teachers educate – while developing themselves as teachers – has a strong influence on their young students. Teaching at German ISD is more than a job. It is the opportunity for German ISD’s staff to share their passion for German language, tradition, and culture in Texas.
Children are viewed as capable, strong and powerful protagonist in their own learning. Children construct knowledge and co-research with the teacher. Learning occurs through collaboration and relationships with the teacher, parents, environment and other students. Children are viewed as citizens and creators of culture. Children are valued for what they are now, not simply what they will become.
German ISD’s integrated portfolios are the most authentic way to assess the growth and development of each student. These portfolios serve as a representative collection of each student’s work throughout the year. It contains each student’s best pieces, special moments, and outstanding achievements during his/her school career at German ISD. Our walls and each childs portfolio show documentation of the children’s thinking processes, passions, and interests and invite new collaboration, conversation and memories.. Students’ portfolios are passed on to the next teacher and grade level following each year of the child’s attendance at German ISD.
The classroom environment plays just as important a role as the teacher and the students. The teachers arrange and rearrange the classroom with intent and respect. Materials are chosen that will stimulate, inspire, and challenge the children as they enter the room at the beginning of the school year. As the year progresses, specific needs arise, a community is built, and project topics emerge; the environment will change as a result. For example, the dramatic play areas will become restaurants, taxi cabs, subway stations, post offices, and much more. The classroom is also set up so that children may freely engage in activities, use materials and make choices with little adult intervention. This respectful process lends itself to children learning independence and gaining confidence in their abilities.
“The wider the range of possibilities we offer children the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences”
– Loris Malaguzzi
Schedule your tour with our School Director, Annegret Richardson
“Children need Freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds, and colors.”
– Loris Malaguzzi
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What does STEM mean?
In this brief, “STEM” is meant to include science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as individual disciplines and as the integration of those disciplines with each other. Because research in mathematics and science education is more extensive, these disciplines receive more attention in the brief. Science is the study of the natural world, seen and unseen. Science includes what scientists and children who are doing science learn (concepts and crosscutting ideas) and how they go about learning it (the practices of science). Technology involves the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as to improve productivity, make things, or provide services.
It includes all man-made objects—basic and advanced, non-digital and digital— that support us in work and in our daily lives. Engineering is the process of designing to meet human needs and wants under various constraints such as time, money, available materials, and the laws of nature. Engineering has strong connections to many other disciplines, particularly mathematics, science, and technology. Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, shape, and change. It provides a foundation for many aspects of daily life, including much of science, technology, and engineering.
The mathematical sciences include more than numbers and arithmetic—they also deal with such topics as geometrical figures and structures, measurement, and logical argumentation. Mathematicians and children doing math use the practices of mathematics to identify crosscutting patterns and structures and to understand and explain phenomena.
“Light is an essential presence to
life, has a strong metaphorical value
and it is an element of great charm.
Since ancient times, man has been
questioning himself on its nature and identity
articulating theories between myth and science. The light is everywhere, but to “see it”, paradoxically, it must be turned on in the mind”
– Loris Malaguzzi
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What is the Light studio?
At German ISD we naturally have a huge emphasis on language and we love teaching our native tongue of German to our students, while including light as one of the experiences for our students. The shared language of light, the inspiration, lets us communicate, teach, and learn and connects us deeper than the languages we speak with our words. The study of light plays a big part in our children’s everyday life and it provides many fascinating explorations and conversations about how the world works. The science of light through electricity and in the light and darkness across various depths and materials leaves children wondering, questioning, and exploring.
“Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before. Creativity becomes more visible when adults try to be more attentive to the creative process of children than to the results they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding.”
– Loris Malaguzzi
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What is an Atelier?
“Atelier” means “art studio” or “workshop” in French. The environment in the Reggio Emilia approach is the third teacher and it is very obvious inside the Atelier. Our Atelier welcomes bright and beautiful colors and inspires children with an array of man-made and natural materials set for their artistic exploration. Children come individually or in small groups to encounter different media, like clay, paint, wood, or silk. This will progressively support all their languages of expression and encourage collaboration as well as creativity. Being able to dictate pace and creativity themselves the Atelier lets children complete projects or discover new ideas. The exploration of the visual arts in the early years offers children endless possibilities. It encourages experimentation, spontaneous creativity, and intuition.
Our Garden is a great place to cultivate a meaningful and fun learning experience for our children. It’s a natural match.
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Gardening offers the children an opportunity to learn the life cycle process, by which plants are grown, as well as responsibility, caretaking, independence, and environmental awareness. Introducing children to gardening is a great way to increase their awareness of where food comes from and the importance of the environment in everyday life. “Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known” Loris Malaguzzi,
Learning with nature is venturing beyond the known. It leads us to forge our own path of possibilities, as families, children, and teachers. The image of the child in the Reggio Emilia approach is one where children are competent, strong, and intellectual builders of theories. In nature, we all can be strong, competent, intellectual builders of theories.