FAQs
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The German International School is a private school in Beaverton, Oregon, offering full language immersion tracks in German or Mandarin, starting with bilingual foundation in the target language in our Two’s Program.
With a private middle school available in German, Mandarin Chinese or English, we are an IB World School that pairs rigorous academics with a focus on social emotional growth, global citizenship, and cross cultural understanding.
Small class sizes, experienced teachers, and an inclusive community create an environment where students thrive academically and personally.
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Language immersion is an instructional model where most or all subjects are taught in a target language rather than English. At GIS, students in the German and Mandarin Chinese tracks learn math, science, social studies, and the arts in their immersion language, building fluency while mastering academic content. This approach supports cognitive flexibility, problem solving, and cultural literacy.
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No prior language experience is required for our early learning programs or private kindergarten. Students entering first grade without immersion experience may quality for our Fast Track language support program, which helps new learners quickly gain the skills needed to succeed in an immersion environment.
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Graduates of our private middle school leave GIs with strong academic skills, bilingual or multilingual fluency, and a deep understanding of cultural perspectives. Our IB aligned curriculum fosters critical thinking, collaboration and self management skills valued by top high schools and future universities.
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Yes. GIS provides need based financial aid to eligible families, making our private school education more accessible. Financial aid awards help ensure that qualified students from diverse backgrounds can benefit from our Global IB, language immersion programs.
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Students at GIS can participate in a variety of after school programs, including arts, music, athletics and cultural clubs. We also offer seasonal camps, after school programming, weekend collaborations and enrichment activities that align with our mission and support student and family interests.
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For our Two’s Program, children do not need to be toilet trained before starting. Our teachers work with two year olds daily to support successful potty habits, and each classroom is equipped with its own private bathroom to make the process easier and more comfortable. Parents are asked to provide disposable diapers, wipes, and changes of clothing to keep at school.
Potty Training is a requirement to start our preschool. Our preschool classrooms have their own bathrooms and our preschool teachers support our little learners in creating healthy bathroom routines.
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To enroll in our private kindergarten at GIS, a child does need to be five years old by Oregon’s cut off date of September 1.
Students younger than 5 may be enrolled in our Two’s Program (2-3 year olds) or Preschool (3-4 year olds).
Students who are German, Austrian, or Swiss nationals and have already begun school in their home country, based on that country’s cut off date, may continue in the same grade upon enrolling at GIS.
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All head classroom teachers who instruct in German or Mandarin Chinese in our language immersion programs have native or near-native fluency in the target language. Teaching assistants are either native speakers or highly proficient. All English language instruction is provided by native English speakers.
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No, but you can reach the German Honorary Consulate at pdxgermanconsul@gmail.com or portland-or@hk-diplo.de.
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No, it is currently located at:
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We can help with that! Please send it to the front desk at info@gspdx.org
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We follow the ODE Symptom-Based Exclusion Chart to determine the duration of absences due to illness. Any student showing listed symptoms should remain home.
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Please email both your child’s teacher and the front desk.