20 Years of GISSV
From a church basement and 34 students to a full Preschool-12 school with two locations and over 500 students - GISSV’s 20 years can rightfully be called a success story!
The Deutsche Schule Silicon Valley (DSSV), as it was known at its inception, was built up by Principal Michael Spahn-Senge and beloved teachers like Regina Enhuber, Jennifer Krejcik, Kristin Eichholz, Heike Lill, and Franke Mercer.
After the name was changed to German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV), the new Principal Maja Oelschlägel completed the journey with the first graduate class of ten students in 2009 and a new location in Berkeley (now known as EBGIS). With the Principal Martin Fugmann, the San Francisco Campus was founded in 2011 and the Mountain View Campus grew into a two-track school with new buildings added every couple of years. Today, Interim Head of School Mario Cimiotti and incoming Head of School Kathrin Röschel are leading the GISSV, a WASC and CAIS accredited school and an “Exzellente Deutsche Auslandsschule” into the next decade of bilingual education in the Bay Area. More than 100 teachers and staff care for now 536 students with more than 40 different nationalities, having had well over 100 graduates so far. With the move to Diamond Street in San Francisco and the next graduating class preparing for the Deutsche Internationale Abitur, GISSV is looking forward to welcoming new families and educating students ages two to 20 for many years to come.
GISSV History - Timeline
Anniversary Students Video - Part 1 (MV):
Birthday Greetings:
Anniversary Events 2020
GISSV Community
GISSV is so much more than a school - it has become the community and home away from home for hundreds of families. Once GISSV, forever GISSV!
Community from Past & Present - Let's Stay in Touch!
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Founders & Their Families
Dr. Jürgen Wolf
Jennifer Stadtmiller
Christian Kaiser
Michael Fischer
Waldemar Gottschalk
Thomas Scharis
Founding Staff
Regina Enhuber
Jennifer Krejcik
Kristin Eichholz
Deborah Marks
Constanze Hänsel
Michaela Janowsky
Isabella Huin
Heads of School over the Years
2000 - 2004: Michael Spahn-Senge
2004 - 2010: Maja Oelschlägel
2010 - 2016: Martin Fugmann
2016 - 2018: Michael Koops
2018 - Feb 2020 (Interim): Mario Cimiotti
March 2020 - present: Kathrin Röschel