How to Start a German Charter School

How to Start 3

The Planning Committee 3

Charter School Law 3

Conceiving the Mission, Vision and Goals 3

Assessing Need and Interest 4

Faculty 4

Financing the School 5

Finding a Site 6

Curriculum 7

Marketing and Public Relations 8

Anticipating Problems 9

Appendix 10

Sample Documents from Rilke Schule

Mission, Vision, Goals Statements 10

Governance 13

Description of Need 13

Development Schedule 14

Assessment

Kindergarten Oral Assessment Checklists 15

A2 Exam 20

Other Assessments 20

The Sprachmeister Award 20

Resources

PASCH Schools Initiative 21

Essential Book 22

Associations 22

German Immersion Schools 23

The most important component needed to start a German charter school is a dedicated, knowledgeable group of leaders. It may be one person’s vision originally, but one person alone cannot start a charter school. The members of the planning committee should include individuals with expertise in education, business, finance, architecture/real estate, public relations and grant writing. The planning committee can be made up of teachers, parents, local German Club members and the community at large. If your school district or state has a charter school liaison person, use this valuable resource. Our District had a charter liaison part-time person who had assisted other charter schools in opening. The other charter schools in town were also very helpful in sharing suggestions and warnings. The third group to help was the District’s non-charter immersion schools. They had over 25 years experience in immersion education and were glad to help in many ways. All of the Planning Committee members visited both District language immersion schools and other (non-language) charter schools. Visits were made to other German immersion schools, charter, public and private, around the country.

Members of the Planning Committee must write the Proposal, the Business Plan and the Marketing Plan and other documents as required by individual states. The Planning committee often morphs into the governing body of the charter school. In the instance of Rilke Schule, this became the Academic Policy Committee and was responsible for the running of the school. (see Appendix).

Make a time line. After checking with the state and or district to see what their requirements are, set up a time line which begins with the planning committee meeting and ends up with the opening of the school. It is vital that you find out when the proposal must be approved by which bodies. For example, our district had to approve the charter first and then the state board of education, which only meets twice a year. So it was essential that our proposal had been approved locally before the meeting of the state school board. (see Appendix for sample Development Schedule)

It is important to find out about charter school law in your state, since regulations vary from state to state. To find out about charter school law in your state, go to http://www.uscharterschools.org , where a link is given for every state.

The committee should agree on a mission, vision and goals for the school. Once the vision is determined, goals can be set. The following are some of the questions which should be addressed:

• 
  Why do we want a German charter school? Can the community support a
  

• 
  What do we want the students to attain?
  
• 
  Will the school be full or partial immersion? What percent will be German?
  

specific pattern? i.e. all language immersion schools in Anchorage

(two Spanish, one Japanese, one Russian) used the 50/50 model very

successfully, so it was expected that the German Charter school would

use the same model.

• 
  What grades will the school have? Will it be elementary only, will it include middle school, will there be a pre-school either in the school or associated with it?
  
• 
  What opportunities will students have to continue German after graduating
  

further education in German for their students?

• 
  What are the goals of the school?
  

It may be that only the planning committee is interested in a German charter school. It is essential to assess the need and interest in the community for such a school. Are there heritage Germans living there? Are there high school and university programs for German and what are their enrollments? It might be impractical to send out an interest survey to all elementary school parents, but if possible that is one way to assess interest.

In forming our Anchorage school, we held public informational meetings every Monday night for the whole year and a half before the school opened at local coffee houses. We advertised these meetings in the local paper free under “Community Events”. Typically between five and twenty persons attended each meeting. We talked about our vision for the school and what we hoped to accomplish. Interestingly enough, many parents did not choose our school primarily for the German, but because we promised smaller classes, more parental involvement, a strict dress code and healthy food only. When we took a survey of families the first year asking why they chose the school, German was the number six, not the number one reason! We had parents sign an “interest list”, which did not commit them to anything, but did give us a list of names to present to the local school board to prove sufficient interest did exist.

For Description of Need of the Rilke Schule, see Appendix.

One of the biggest problems facing all German immersion schools in the United States is a lack of qualified, trained teachers who have native or near-native fluency. This lack is not limited to German, but is felt in every language immersion program. Ideally, one could find native speakers who are currently teaching successfully in the local elementary schools. One of the problems is that even when you think you have potential teachers lined up, they will not commit to the school until it has been proven successful. After all, if they put in a transfer request to the local district and are transferred, if the school does fall through, they will not get their old jobs back. They may be placed in a totally different school teaching other subjects and grades. Therefore, the teachers who initially showed a great interest in Rilke Schule chose not to come the first year. They adopted a “wait and see” policy. Fortunately, after Rilke had proved to be viable and had passed all of the No Child Left Behind exams successfully, then local teachers were interested in transferring.

Another source of teachers is to retrain high school German teachers. Unfortunately, this method has several drawbacks: they were taught to teach German as a foreign language, not to teach elementary subjects such as math and science in German. Often their oral language skills in German are not up to the requirements of such instruction. Also, elementary school children present a whole different psychological profile than high school students and not all high school teachers can adapt.

All charter school teachers in Alaska must have a valid Alaskan teaching certificate and be hired directly by the school district itself, not by the school. All teachers are members of the National Education Association and Alaska Education Association and receive the same pay and benefits as all teachers. No teacher can be transferred against his/her will to a charter school. If a charter school fails, all teachers are reassigned to other schools in the district. The principal does not have this right.

There are few institutions of higher education which have immersion teacher training programs. The best recognized program is at the University of Minnesota. The University also sponsors CARLA: The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition and ACIE: The American Council on Immersion Education, which puts out a valuable newsletter on immersion teaching. Another source of help is the Kinder Lernen Deutsch special interest group at the American Association of Teachers of German.

The American Association of Teachers of German has a List Serve for schools searching for teachers as well as for teachers looking for a job.

Once the charter school has been established and has a proven track record, it can qualify to become a PASCH school (see Appendix), sponsored by the Zentralstelle für Auslandsschulen. There are three representatives in the United States: one in Washington, D.C., one in Los Angeles and one in Portland, OR. Once a German school is a PASCH school, they can qualify for a free teacher from Germany. Albert Einstein Academy in San Diego is an example of a German charter school which has two (!) such teachers, one for elementary and one for middle school.

What about the principal? Are we going to require our principal to speak German? In our district, the Academic Policy Committee hires the principal and he/she is answerable directly to them. In turn, with a committee of teachers and parents, the principal hires the staff (teachers, aides, secretaries, etc.) Principals in Alaska do not have to have a principal’s certificate, therefore they cannot be part of the principal’s union. We chose a principal who did not know German but who was familiar with local school district rules and policies and then offered her German lessons. It is important to choose a principal who gets along well with the district, the staff and the parents. The staff at a charter school has to work 50% harder than at regular public schools and gets no extra pay for this.

Charter schools are publicly funded, but it is necessary to ascertain how much income the school will get per child. In Alaska at the time we opened Rilke, charter schools had to have a minimum of 150 students to start a school with full funding. Anything below the 150 students (determined by a 20 day average student count in the month of October) would receive only 60% funding. Unless it was a tiny school operating out of one’s home, no school could survive on 60% funding. In order to meet that number, the local district insisted that we have 200 lottery applications and at least 165 firm commitments by August 1^st of the year we planned to open. Working with the district and state, we figured that we would receive a total of about $ 8,000 per child. Multiplying that by our anticipated 180 students gave us a working budget of $1,440,000. Sounds like a lot of money! It didn’t take long to figure out that we would need a finance committee to work with our funds. The one person on the planning committee with some financial background formed the Finance Committee, which worked initially with both finances and grants. Eventually, a separate Grants Committee will be necessary with an expert on researching and writing grants. The Federal Government offers start-up grants for charter schools to buy initial items like furniture, technology, copiers, textbooks, manipulatives, science supplies, maps, filing cabinets, bookshelves, supplies, etc. Ours was approximately $400,000, but that was not sufficient for our needs. Fortunately, the Anchorage School District opened their warehouse to us and we were allowed to choose cast-off furniture from other schools. Only the kindergarten classes got all new, beautiful furniture.

All charter schools in Alaska must go through their local school district and the districts take a fee for administering grants and monies, so this must also be planned for. The usual fee is 3 – 4 %. In return, all ordering is done through the district, all staff are paid directly through the district, etc. Unfortunately, it means the charter school can hire only union labor through the district, so the charter school cannot save money by hiring someone else as a janitor, for example. All extra services, such as physical therapy, school psychologist, speech therapy, etc., must by done through the district and these services are billed to the charter school, while other public schools get them free. This may differ from state to state.

In order to get all of these various expenses under one cap, the finance committee must make a business plan which covers for example: Legal Structure, Risk Management, Founding Committee’s Qualifications, Academic Policy Committee, Market Needs, Goals, Competition, Curriculum, Grading and Assessment, Special Education Services, Dress Code, Potential School Building (location, value, description, floor plan), Cost of Development, Expenses and Capital Requirements, Preliminary Contingency Plan, Employee Requirements, Marketing Plan, Estimated Enrollment, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) Analysis, Public Relations Plan, School Administration and Policies. Due to length, no sample document is included in this booklet. For a copy of Rilke Schule’s Business Plan, write Jo Sanders at frausanders@alaska.com.

7. Finding a Site for the School

Most states do not provide a building for charter schools. In order to find an appropriate building, the architect/real estate member of the planning committee needs to form a sub-committee, the Building Committee. They need to work closely with the finance member of the committee, who can give them a ballpark figure on how much rent they will be able to afford. In searching for an appropriate building, it is necessary to evaluate each site with an eye on these questions:

• 
  Is the site centrally located for the potential student body?
  
• 
  Is there room for expansion within the building or nearby?
  
• 
  Is there appropriate space for a playground?
  
• 
  Is it sufficiently far from the nearest bars, liquor stores and gun stores
  

• 
  Are there a large number of sex offenders living in the area?
  
• 
  Is there enough room for drop-off and pick up of students to allow a
  

• 
  Is there enough parking? Parking must be allotted not just for staff and visitors, but for assemblies and performances when parents from the whole school may be in attendance.
  
• 
  What is the zoning code for that area?
  
• 
  Can the building used as a school or rebuilt within the budget to conform to municipal codes?
  
• 
  Is there space for a multipurpose room (gym, assembly, lunchroom) which can hold the whole student body and their parents.
  
• 
  Is there space for computer lab, library, art room, science room, music room, storage, teacher lounge, copier / work room, principal’s office, reception area with desk, nurse’s office with couch, rooms for special education, specialists such as curriculum director, speech therapist, etc, (some can be shared)?
  

Charter schools have a lot of say in developing their own curriculum. Some full immersion schools adopt a German curriculum, i.e. The German-American School of Portland uses the curriculum of Nordrhein-Westfalen. However, since charter schools are public schools, American parents expect their students to have a deeper knowledge of American history, government and language than is given in German curricula. Therefore most charter schools use a combination of authentic German materials, teacher-produced materials, American materials translated into German and English materials. For example, the Anchorage School District does not use a science book, but has developed a curriculum based upon science kits. These kits are in giant tubs and contain a teacher’s manual, masters for handouts, supplies for all experiments and activities and age-appropriate books in English to accompany them. All of the immersion schools use these kits, but the teachers translate the appropriate accompanying materials, occasionally supplementing them with German science books written at the appropriate level. The school district actually pays immersion teachers to attend science seminars on Saturdays to translate the materials into their respective languages.

If the school can become a PASCH school, the Federal Republic of Germany will help with grants for Lehr- und Lernmittel.

Many German schools are willing to share their teacher-made materials and all of them welcome visits to their schools. The principals and/or curriculum directors can be very helpful. Before Rilke Schule was opened, visits were made to the Albert Einstein Academy Charter School in San Diego, the German-American School of Portland, the German Immersion School in Minneapolis, the German School of Milwaukee and the German School of Cincinnati. All of the schools were most helpful.

There are two excellent German units which can be used in the upper grades in immersion. These are units produced by the Kinder Lernen Deutsch committee of the American Association of Teachers of German and are very reasonably priced. The units are used in our school for science (Die Umwelt und Ich - $25.00) and social studies (Deutsch-Amerikaner - $12.00). They also have a number of thematic units “Mappen” available.

9. Marketing and Public Relations

• 
  Make a flyer. As soon as you have a general idea about what you want in a German Charter School, make a flyer for it. Where do you get the seed money for public relations? Our planning committee members dug into their pockets and chipped in whatever was needed. You may have members on your committee who can get the copying done free or at a reduced rate, which is really important.
  

• 
  The benefits of learning German
  
• 
  That the school will be K – 8 (or pre-K – 6, or whatever)
  
• 
  How an immersion program works
  
• 
  That students in immersion programs do as well or better on national and state tests than students with no language
  
• 
  That there is a plan for continuing their German after graduation
  
• 
  That Boot Camp will be offered free after school for any students needing additional help
  
• 
  That there will be programs available for students who have to be dropped off early or picked up late.
  

• 
  Make a parent handbook. Rilke developed a parent handbook which explained the mission, vision and goals in detail and clearly laid out such things as the school schedule, grading, the dress code and healthy foods policy.
  
• 
  Start a website. Put all information on the website as well as applications for the school or lottery. Make links to articles extolling the benefits of immersion education.
  
• 
  Prepare a power point presentation to give at the public information meetings.
  
• 
  Have periodic press releases as soon as the school district or state approves the school. If there are public events, invite the press to them. The Rilke planning committee held barbeque dinners at public parks (and later at the school) and invited the public to learn about the school.
  
• 
  As soon as the school site is close to being ready, hold open house and give tours.
  

10. Anticipating Problems

It helps to begin the journey to open an immersion charter school knowing in advance what some of the problems will be. Some can be planned for, others must just be taken in stride. Some common problems:

• 
  Many more parents sign up as interested than actually show up. We
  

• 
  . There will be attrition no matter what. We are a mobile society and
  

cannot be readily replaced with new students, unless you happen to have

native speakers coming in. We have a significant military population, so

we know that a number of the families will be rotating out after three

years. A few parents will not agree with one aspect of the school, be it

that their child cannot wear hair dye or have cookies for lunch or

wear t-shirts or jeans to school. Since most districts do not provide transportation to school, parents must drive and carpools must be

organized. When gas hit over $4.00 per gallon, we lost some thirty

otherwise very satisfied families because they could not afford the gas.

• 
  There is a dearth of appropriate, classroom-ready materials in German.
  

curricula, so teacher end up creating much of the materials themselves.

Just try to find a book in German written on a third grade level on

Alaskan history! Also, many subjects are taught in American schools

which are not in the German curriculum or are taught at different grade

levels. For example, our fourth graders do social studies units in German

on archeology, Ice Age Man, Germanic Tribes, the Romans, the Greeks,

the Egyptians, the Aztecs, Incas and Mayas and Old China. Where these

materials are available at all in German, they are meant for older students, native German speakers and have limited use in class.

• 
  Deciding which subjects should be taught in English and which in German. If using a total immersion model, when should English be introduced and for how many hours? What do we do about American history? What subjects will be tested on the national tests and how will our students master the necessary vocabulary?
  
• 
  How will we assess our students in German? There are no good assessment vehicles to assess immersion German progress. For the students in upper elementary and middle school, there are the A2 and B1 tests from the International Reference Framework of the European Union and the AATG tests, which test only a part of student mastery of the language. For younger children, we use a checklist and test each child individually (see Appendix)
  
• 
  What will you do about special education students? In Alaska, as a public
  

A. Mission, Vision and goals

Mission Statement

The Rilke Schule German Charter School of Arts & Sciences is a K through 8 school that provides an outstanding education focused on high academic achievement by engaging each child through an enriched language curriculum taught primarily in German. Our teaching focus is on language, arts, and sciences, fostering creative expression through drama, arts, music, and sports. With the support of parents and the extended family, our school creates a community which is immersed in the German culture and promotes international awareness. Our school nurtures a child’s natural curiosity, cultivating life long learning.

Vision

The vision of the Rilke Schule German Charter School of Arts & Sciences is to be the BEST German Immersion School in Alaska, the United States, and beyond.

Being the best means:
Multilingualism - Multilingualism is the norm in most of the world and we believe that children who know more than one language will be better prepared for life in the 21st century.
World Citizenship - By exposing and immersing our students and their families in new cultures, we will promote informed, active, and responsible world citizenship.
Respect - We believe that all children learn best when they are known and understood as individuals. Each child at our school will be accepted and challenged in the manner that is most appropriate for them. We instill respect for the diversity of humankind by applying a social curriculum that is as important as the academic curriculum. This will include manners and etiquette.
Challenges - We believe that children rise to academic challenges that are developmentally appropriate. We are committed to providing a learning environment that teaches and expects students to do the best work of which each student is capable.
Involvement - We believe that at the heart of every vibrant school are involved parents, extended families, and their communities. Board members, faculty, and families share in the daily tasks and long-term planning that comprise the ongoing functions of the school.
Healthy Lifestyle - We practice healthy living through nutritious eating and regular exercise in school.
Sustainability – We are committed to the policy of “reduce, recycle, reuse.”

Goals of the Rilke Schule

1. 
   Students will learn to speak German fluently and will have a deep understanding of heritage, cultural norms and customs of German-speaking countries and use German to acquire knowledge not available to them in English.
   

2. 
   Community Service – each child will actively be involved in the community to learn that helping others is part of being a responsible world citizen.
   

3. 
   The school will have a financial plan to assure sustainability.
   

4. 
   Students will have penpals and email pals in the German-speaking countries. . Regular exchange trips to partner school(s) will be made and the school will host students from partner school(s).
   

5. 
   Every family will be expected to fulfill a volunteer commitment of at least 4 hours per month to help the school with various needs. Families will also be involved in joint projects, field trips, festivals, performances, and similar activities.
   

6. 
   Traditional holidays and festivals of the German-speaking countries will be celebrated.
   

7. 
   The school, its faculty and staff will collaborate with other learning entities to enrich the school life. We will work with Anchorage School District German faculty to develop an excellent German high school program to provide our students with an opportunity to continue their advanced German studies beyond 8^th grade. We will work with members of the German government, the Goethe Institute and the American Association of Teachers of German to provide pre-service and in-service staff development.
   

8. 
   The curriculum will meet the Content Standards for Alaskan Schools in all areas.
   

9. 
   Performance standards in each subject area will be evaluated regularly in order to ensure continuity and effectiveness.
   

10. 
    Students performing below ‘proficient standards’ will be offered tutoring for German and/or English subjects.
    

11. 
    Professional development and additional staff training will be emphasized during in-services, as well as on other special occasions.
    

12. 
    Parents will be continually informed about student progress and school events through: newsletters, website, notes sent home, phone calls or e-mails from teachers, regular and special parent conferences, and the use of student portfolios.
    

13. 
    Staff will be given the opportunity to improve their German through seminars in German-speaking countries.
    

14. 
    The school will provide before and after school enrichment programs such as Spanish, French, Russian, other languages, drama, robotics, chess, choir, Orff Ensemble, sports, arts and crafts, and German games.
    

15. 
    The school will maintain an active recycling program and will participate in local, national, and international ecological and conservation projects.
    

16. 
    Classes in German will be offered for parents and other adults who wish to learn German.
    

B. Governance

Rilke Schule Academic Policy Committee

Rilke Schule German Charter School proposes to have an Academic Policy Committee (APC) consisting of seven members: three parents, one community member at large (who may or may not be a parent), two teachers from the school and a liaison with the American Association of Teachers of German. Guest members who may add input but have no vote will include one representative from the high school teachers and one from the university level. The parent positions must be filled by parents of students currently attending Rilke Schule German Charter School and may not be filled by teachers or any other paid employee of the school. Only one parent per family may serve on this Committee at a time. Attendance is mandatory. The members of the Academic Policy Committee will receive no compensation for their services as members of the committee.

General Powers and Duties

The APC will monitor progress in achieving academic policies and other goals of the Rilke Schule German Charter School, oversee the business and affairs of the school, interview and hire the principal and teachers (with the aid of the principal) and answer to the Anchorage School Board with respect to responsibilities laid out in School Board Policy. The APC will meet with the principal at least four times a year to review academic policies, goals and objectives and modify these as necessary.

The following persons are members of the organizing committee: (names and information deleted here, but listed in the original document).

C. Description of Need

Rilke Schule Charter German School Description of Need

Anchorage has four successful language immersion programs: Spanish two-way immersion at Government Hill Elementary, Japanese at Sand Lake Elementary, Russian at Turnagain Elementary and Spanish at Chugiak Elementary. Spanish immersion students continue on at Romig Middle School and West High School. Japanese immersion students continue on at Mears Middle School and Dimond High School. Russian students will continue on at Romig Middle School and West High School. There is no German offered at the elementary or middle school level in regular programs. Northern Lights ABC does offer German in seventh and eighth grades, but as it is a lottery school starting in kindergarten, most students could not join the program in middle school, so it is not really an option.

Why German? One in five Americans is of German descent; there is a rich history of Germans in America and in Alaska as well. Germany has provided a rich literary, musical, scientific and political legacy for the evolution of Western Civilization. Ten percent of the books published in the world are in German. More than 1,100 companies in German-speaking countries have subsidiaries in the United States and over 750 American companies do business in German-speaking countries. Over 60,000 German-speaking tourists visit Alaska each summer, creating a demand for Alaskans who are comfortable in that language. In order to meet the needs of the 21st Century, it is important to start German at an early age and continue it in a long, articulated sequence leading to fluency in the language and a deep understanding of German culture.
German has proven to be a language of high interest in Alaska, which has the second highest percent of students taking German in the United States, after Pennsylvania. Every high school in Anchorage has a solid German program and our students and teachers have won national honors, including free trips to Germany. The University of Alaska now offers a major in German, so students can now continue their education in their home state.
Brain research has shown that for greatest accuracy and excellent pronunciation, foreign language learning must begin before the age of ten. Research studies across the United States and Canada have shown that young foreign language learners show greater achievement in basic skills and improvement in standardized test scores compared to students who were not learning a foreign language. Foreign language learning improves understanding of the students’ native language, enhances listening skills, improves memory and gives a new perspective and understanding of language. Mastery of German provides insights into German literature, science, history and culture, which cannot be obtained in translation.
D. Sample Development Schedule

Anchorage School District Charter School Development Schedule:

Nr.	Date ………..	Action………………………………………………	Status
1.	July 15	One year prior to the first year of opening a new charter school – letter of intent sent to Assistant Superintendent of Anchorage School District	x
2.	July/August	Meet and review intent with Charter School Supervisor and Assistant Superintendent of ASD
3.	August	Meet and review intent with Charter School Supervisor and Budget Director of ASD
4.	August	Charter school application due to Asst. Superintendent
5.	September	Meet with Asst. Superintendent and department chairs for an administrative review of application
6.	Sept./Oct	Make any adjustments requested by the administrative review to the application
7.	Nov.	Meet and review charter school application with ASD school board in a work session.
8.	Nov.	Make any adjustments requested by the School Board review.
9.	1st Mon. Dec.	School Board approves/disapproves charter school application.
10.	Feb./Mar.	Proposers of charter school finalize building arrange- ments for charter school and schedule parent informa- tion meetings.
11.	March	Approved charter school application is submitted to the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education for charter approval.
12.	March	Approved charter is eligible for implementation and start-up grant funds from the federal government.
13.	March	Contract is signed between the ASD school board and the proposers of the approved charter school.
14	Apr/May/Jun	Parent information meetings are held, participation in the May lottery, staffing, final building arrangements are made. Attend State Charter School Conference (April).
15	July	Access to Foundation funds from State via ASD begins. Purchase of supplies and equipment begins.
16.	August	Final staffing takes place through ASD Human Resources.
17.	August	Students participate in a lottery to enroll into the new charter school. Individual Educational Plans meet with teams from prior school and new school to work out placement issues.
18.	August	Set up classrooms, office, support areas in building. Have District AV people establish communications systems that interface with the District.
19	August	Develop school schedules. Plan calendar for the school year. Mail out welcome newsletter to parents (hold welcome barbeque potluck at school). Continue to market if numbers are low.
20.	mid- August	SCHOOL BEGINS!!

E. Assessment

1. Sample Kindergarten German Assessment checklist

Rilke Kindergarten Checklist
Checklist for German Kindergarten – First Quarter 2008
Student Name ______________________ Checker _____________________
None Begun Emerging Mastered
___ ___ ___ ____ 1. Student can count to 20

___ ___ ___ ___ 2. Student can greet and ask after health.

___ ___ ___ ___ 3. Student can recognize numbers 1 - 10

___ ___ ___ ____ 4. Student can ask for and give own name.

___ ___ ___ ____ 5. Student can ask for and give own age

___ ___ ___ ___ 6. Student can give class motto in German and explain in

English. “Seid nett zueinander”

___ ___ ___ ____ 7. Student can say the days of the week

___ ___ ___ ___ 8. Student can recite the four behavior rules.

___ ___ ___ ___ 9. Student can ask for permission (bathroom, drink, play)

._ ___ ___ ____ 10. Student can tell 6 things animals can do.

___ ___ ___ ___ 11. Student can tell 10 things he can do. (Ich kann laufen)

___ ___ ___ ___ 12. Student can tell 3 things she can not do

___ ___ ___ ___ 13. Student can follow basic classroom directions

___ ___ ___ ___ 14. Student can copy a pattern of beads in shape and color.

___ ___ ___ ___ 15. Student can show preference for food (lecker, ekelhaft)

___ ___ ___ ___ 16. Student can point to 10 body parts as they are named.

___ ___ ___ ____ 17. Student can name head, eye(s), ear(s), nose, mouth, hand (s), arm(s), leg(s), foot (feet), finger. Article does not have to be correct.

___ ___ ___ ___ 18. Student can tell number of above body parts.

___ ___ ___ ____ 19. Student can identify and name 10 colors.

___ ___ ___ ___ 20. Student can name 6 fruits and/or vegetables.

___ ___ ___ ____ 21. Student can sing „Ich habe eine Banane“

___ ___ ___ ____ 22. Student can sing „Guten Morgen, ruft die Sonne“

___ ___ ___ ____ 23. Student can sing „Guten Morgen,wir winken uns zu“

___ ___ ___ ____ 24. Student can sing „Guten Tag, sagen alle Kinder“

___ ___ ____ ____ 25. Student can sing „Wir Haben Hunger“

___ ___ ____ ____ 26. Student can sing „.Die Blätter am Baum”

___ ___ ____ ____ 27. Student can sing „Montag, Dienstag“

___ ___ ____ ____ 28. Student can sing „Eine kleine Spinne“

___ ___ ____ ____ 20. Student can sing „Bis bald, ade“

___ ___ ____ ____ 21. Student can sing “Grün, grün, grün”.

___ ___ ____ ____ 22. Student can sing „Kopf, Schulter, Knie...“

___ ___ ____ ____ 23. Student can sing „Hoch soll er leben“

___ ___ ____ ____ 24. Student can name 4 relatives.

___ ___ ____ ____ 25. Student can identify the basic tableware used in class.

(fork, knife, spoon, plate, cup, saucer, glass)

___ ___ ___ ___ 26. Student can name the basic tableware used in class.

___ ___ ____ ___ 27. Student can recite health verse: Nach dem Klo und

vor dem Essen, Händewaschen nicht vergessen!

Checklist for German Kindergarten Evaluation – Second Quarter, 2008-09 School Year

Student Name ______________________ Checker _____________________

None Begun Emerging Mastered
___ ___ ___ ____ 27. Student can give today’s day and complete date.

___ ___ ___ ____ 28. Student can give yesterday’s date in past tense.

___ ___ ___ ____ 29. Student can give tomorrow’s date.

___ ___ ___ ____ 30. Student can recite Nikolaus poem.

___ ___ ___ ____ 31. Student can recite Advent poem.

___ ___ ___ ____ 32. Student can sing first verse of “O Tannenbaum”

___ ___ ___ ____ 33. Student can sing first verse of “Stille Nacht”

___ ___ ___ ____ 34. Student can sing “Laßt uns froh”.

___ ___ ___ ____ 35. Student can sing “Es war eine Mutter” (all verses)

___ ___ ___ ____ 36. Student can sing “Kling, Glöckchen”

___ ___ ___ ____ 37. Student can sing “Laterne, Laterne”

___ ___ ___ ____ 38. Student can sing “Ich geh’ mit meiner Laterne”

___ ___ ___ ____ 39. Student can sing “Brüderchen, komm tanz mit mir“

___ ___ ___ ____ 40. Student can name items ordinally to 19 (first, sec.)

___ ___ ___ ____ 41. Student can count to 100 by ones.

___ ___ ___ ____ 42. Student can count to 100 by tens.

___ ___ ___ ____ 43. Student can count to 100 by fives.

___ ___ ___ ____ 44. Student can add numbers whose sums equal 12 or less.

___ ___ ___ ____ 45. Student can name at least 5 forms of transport from

pictures (Fahrrad, Dreirad, Motorrad, Auto, zu Fuß,

fährt Schi, Schlitten, Schneeschuhe)

___ ___ ___ ____ 46. Student can identify 5 new animals from pictures

(Fuchs, Schwein, Stinktier, Waschbär, Eichhörn-

chen, Krähe)

___ ___ ___ ____ 47. Student can recite his/her part from “Drachentöter”

___ ___ ___ ____ 48. Student can name 10 daily activities (from pictures)

___ ___ ___ ____ 49. Student can identify 5 school supplies.

___ ___ ___ ____ 50. Student can identify 6 types of weather.

___ ___ ___ ____ 51. Student can name 6 types of weather.

___ ___ ___ ____ 52. Student can give basic commands to other children

(aufräumen, Schule anziehen, in die richtige Reihenfolge, Hände waschen, etc)

___ ___ ___ ____ 53. Student understands and reacts to all basic class-

room commands

___ ___ ___ ____ 54. Student can read some basic sight words in German

(see list)
Checklist for German Kindergarten Evaluation – Third Quarter, 2008-09 School Year
Student Name ______________________ Checker _____________________
None Begun Emerging Mastered
___ ___ ___ ____ 55.. Student can sing “Hänschen klein”

___ ___ ___ ____ 56. Student can sing „Wischi Wischi Waschi“

___ ___ ___ ____ 57. Student can sing the German alphabet

___ ___ ___ ____ 58. Student can sing „Alle meine Enten“

___ ___ ___ ____ 59. Student can do addition problems to 20.

___ ___ ___ ____ 60. Student can do subtraction problems without borrowing.

___ ___ ___ ____ 61. Student can do addition with carrying.

___ ___ ___ ____ 62. Student can determine whether a problem is

addition or subtraction.

___ ___ ___ ____ 63. Student can show that addition is commutative.

___ ___ ___ ____ 64. Student can tell what basic materials things are

made of.

___ ___ ___ ____ 65. Student can judge whether objects will float or sink.

___ ___ ___ ____ 66. Student can identify redwood, plywood, basswood

and particle board in German.

___ ___ ___ ____ 67. Student knows that wood comes from trees.

___ ___ ___ ____ 68. Student can differentiate between deciduous trees

and conifers by sight.

___ ___ ___ ____ 68b. Student knows that deciduous trees have leaves and

conifers have needles.

___ ___ ___ ____ 69. Student can read numbers accurately up to 99.

___ ___ ___ ____ 70. Student knows and can read basic opposites words.

___ ___ ___ ____ 71. Student answers common questions spontaneously

in German.

___ ___ ___ ____ 72. Student can ask three questions about a presentation

___ ___ ___ ____ 73. Student can give three compliments.

___ ___ ___ ____ 74. Student can read and understand class chores

___ ___ ___ ____ 75. Student can name the basic geometric two-

dimensional forms.

___ ___ ___ ____ 76. Student can name fifteen body parts.

___ ___ ___ ____ 77. Student can read fifteen body parts.

___ ___ ___ ____ 78. Student can name the basic German vowels.

___ ___ ___ ____ 79. Student reads correctly diphthongs „ei“ and „au“

___ ___ ___ ____ 80. Student can sound out basic syllables in reading

German.

___ ___ ___ ____ 81. Student can name ten things in class (eg Leseecke).

___ ___ ___ ____ 82. Student can name the five senses.

___ ___ ___ ____ 83. Student can recite the poem „Die fünf Sinne”

___ ___ ___ ____ 84. Student can describe the German flag.

___ ___ ___ ____ 85. Student can sing “An die Freude” by heart.

___ ___ ___ ____ 86. Student can sing the German national anthem

by heart (“Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit”).

___ ___ ___ ____ 87. Student can locate all of the continents when named

___ ___ ___ ____ 88. Student can name the continents in German.

___ ___ ___ ____ 89. Student can name and locate the Atlantic, Pacific,

Indian oceans.

___ ___ ___ ____ 90. Student can find and name the poles on a globe.

___ ___ ___ ____ 91. Student can locate the 5 German-speaking countries

on a European map and name them.

___ ___ ___ ____ 92. Student can name the capitals of the German-

speaking countries.

___ ___ ___ ____ 93. Student can locate Alaska on a globe and world

map.

___ ___ ___ ____ 94. Student can locate the United States on globe and

world map.

___ ___ ___ ____ 95. Student can name the capital of Alaska.

___ ___ ___ ____ 96. Student can name the capital of US

2. The A2 Exam

The Education Commission of the European Union set common standards in all European languages for achievement in the four skills (comprehension, speaking, reading and writing), called the Common European Framework of Reference. A series of examinations is available to test German using these standards: A2, B1, B2 and C1. The tests are appropriate for German language students from about 5^th grade on, although students as young as third grade have successfully passed them at Rilke. The advantage of these tests over, for example, the AATG tests, is that all four skills are tested. In addition to listening and reading, students must also write an essay and have an oral interview, which is a combination of conversation and a prepared presentation by the student. The exams are administered in the United States by the ZfA-Fachberater for each region. The cost is the same as the AATG exams.

3. Other Assessments

SOPA: The Student Oral Proficiency Assessment is intended with students with two or more years of foreign language in the elementary school. Only assesses oral achievement.

ELOPA: The Early Language Learning Oral Proficiency Assessment

These two assessments have been developed through the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center in Ames, Iowa (nflrc@iastate.edu)

4. The Sprachmeister

Building upon a model used at the Concordia Language Villages where students wear a pendant with “Sprachmeister” written on it if they plan to speak German all day, Rilke Schule adapted the idea to promote oral proficiency and constant use of the language at school. Using wooden flag blanks approximately 2” x 3”, flags of the German-speaking countries were painted on each blank, along with the word “Sprachmeister”. The teacher keeps track (with the help of the students) on a daily chart of all the students who speak only German each day during the German half of the day (3 ½ hours). The flags are awarded as follows:

25 days : flag of Germany

50 days: flag of Austria

75 days: flag of Switzerland

100 days: flag of Luxemburg

125 days: flag of Liechtenstein

150 days: flag of Belgium

all year: flag of the European Union

Students wear their flags proudly on gold cords and on special days, they wear all of them they have earned. Days do not run over from year to year, but are started new each year. For kindergarten, students only have to speak for 10 days to get their first flag.

The outcome of this system is that in whole classes, only German is spoken willingly by the students, especially from 2^nd grade on. All students in the school who have spoken only German for 100 days or more get a gold medal (see Teachers Discovery, German awards), given at the public awards assembly at the end of school. Students who have spoken German for 150 days or more get their names engraved on a beautiful permanent plaque which hangs in the school reception area.


RESOURCES

PASCH

With the partner school initiative PASCH, a global network of schools is being built. Pupils at these schools are not just given the opportunity of learning German and enjoying German education. This cultural relations initiative is intended to arouse long-term interest in modern Germany and the German language amongst young people. The Federal Foreign Office is responsible for coordinating PASCH, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), the Goethe-Institut (GI), the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (PAD) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The ZfA-Fachberater for the United States, who help in the establishment, support and assessment at German schools in the US:

Frank Müller	zfa-losangeles@ca.rr.com	Südwesten USA; Washington, D.C.
Petra Reuter	petra.reuter@web.de	Südosten USA
Elke Rühl	ruehl-zfa@gmx.com	Nordwesten USA; New York
Gert Wilhelm	wilhelm-zfa@gmx.com	Mitte USA; Boston

Book to read:

First of all, everyone on the planning committee should have access to and have read the bible of elementary school language instruction: Children and Language: Making the Match, 3^rd edition, by Helena Curtain and Carol Ann Dahlberg. This can be purchased through AATG.

Associations:

AATG: American Association of Teachers of German. (aatg.org)

The national umbrella association for German teachers at all levels. Has a materials center where books, CDs, DVDs, units, teacher-made materials, maps,

etc. can be purchased. Offers summer teacher training seminars in the US and

Europe, some scholarships available. Kinder Lernen Deutsch special interest group is focused on teaching German to children up through middle school. Also has a list serve for members to exchange information as well as a job list serve.

Offers national tests with medals and prizes. Annual meeting is held with ACTFL. Offers the excellent journal Unterrichtspraxis and an online newsletter.

ACTFL: The American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages. (actfl.org)

The umbrella organization for all world language teachers in the United States.

Developed student achievement standards for every level of every language.

Standards are very useful in planning curriculum. The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines also include sample lessons for all ages and proficiencies. Publishes both the Foreign Language Annals journal and a monthly magazine The Language Educator.

ACIE: The American Council on Immersion Education.

Publishes the ACIE Newsletter, a very practical, hands-on journal of immersion

education. Sponsored by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota.
IBIS: International Book Import Service (www.ibiservice.com)

Barbara Patten runs an import service for German materials at all levels, but is

willing to work out specials rates for immersion schools.
US Charter Schools website gives an overview of what charter schools are and offers

help in forming charter schools. Offers newsletter of current issues affecting

charter schools.
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: Overview of what charter schools are and

update on current issues affecting charter schools.

Some German Immersion Schools in the US

Charter Schools:

Albert Einstein Academy Charter School, San Diego. www.aeacs.org

Goethe International Charter School, Los Angeles www.goethecharterschool.org

German International Charter School of La Mirada www.germanschool-Lm.org

Rilke Schule, Anchorage www.rilkeschule.org

Twin Cities German Immersion School www.germanschool-mn.org

Other Schools:

Deutsche Schule, Chicago www.germanschoolchicago.com

German-American Elementary School, Houston www.glchouston.com

German-American School of Portland, OR www.gspdx.org

German-American International School, Palo Alto, CA www.germanamericanschool.org

German International School of Dallas www.german.isd.com

German International School of Silicon Valley www.gissv.org

Milwaukee German Immersion School www2.milwaukee.k12.wi.us

Immersion Schools mixed with other languages:

Atlanta International School www.aischool.org

Colorado International School, Denver www.coloradointernationalschool.org

International School of Tucson, AZ www.internationalschooloftucson.org

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