STRATEGIC PLAN 2025 - 2030
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF GISSV
We go beyond preparing students for the future. We empower them to shape it.
At GISSV, our mission is to foster academic excellence, champion belonging, and equip students with the skills to navigate languages, cultures, and the complexities of a global society. We provide a rigorous, multilingual learning environment for students that seek a GermanAmerican education beginning in preschool and culminating in both a German Abitur and American high school diploma. In our strong community, close student-teacher relationships cultivate both intellectual and emotional growth. Together, we shape the future. MISSION
Introduction
The GISSV Board of Directors is pleased to share this strategic plan, designed to ensure our educational mission, growth, and sustainability are achieved in a focused and coordinated way over the next three to five years. We began creating this plan with an in-depth process of listening to our community members and considering our current strengths and challenges. Our strategic planning committee then carefully crafted this plan to define the priorities. This plan is a forwardlooking roadmap for our school that establishes how we will achieve our long-term goals.
GISSV currently offers a rigorous bilingual curriculum from early childhood through high school that culminates in a unique dual diploma: the German Abitur and the California High School Diploma. This dual qualification reflects our commitment to high academic standards rooted in the European humanistic tradition while also aligning with the expectations of the American and global educational landscapes.
Our exceptional educators and staff facilitate this distinctive educational experience and uphold our supportive culture. In order to maintain our place as a leader in GermanAmerican bilingual education, we need to continuously reflect upon and refine our practices. This plan outlines the steps required.
The conclusions of the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan came together thanks to the incredible involvement of the various stakeholders in our community: students, parents, teachers, staff, leadership, board, alumni. This marks our first plan in almost a decade.
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SEPT 2024 Process to engage an external facilitator begins
SEPT 23, 2024 Facilitator engaged for one-day offsite. Board completes initial survey & homework, responding to key questions on:
• Identity: What is GISSV’s ideal identity? Who is it for? What makes it unique?
• Configuration: Ideal number of students, campuses, and inter-campus relationships
50 Hours of committee meetings held
315
71 11 Focus group participants Survey participants Draft plan feedback volunteers
Committee members across stakeholder groups
OCT 5, 2024 First in-person offsite with board and leadership, aligned with Dr. Wolfram Schrimpf’s visit (Note: Interim Head of School served until Feb 2024)
OCT 8, 2024 Board votes to appoint Brooke Carroll as external facilitator for the entire process
OCT 22, 2024 Planning meeting to determine survey content and site visits
OCT 26, 2024 Second board offsite
NOV 6, 2024 Consensus-building session with board
DEC 2–9, 2024 Society-wide survey conducted 315 total participants
JAN 21–24, 2025 Focus group sessions held in SF and MV for students, teachers, staff, leadership, parents
119 participants across stakeholder groups
Jan 25, 2025 Board discussion to synthesize themes from survey and focus groups
Feb 14, 2025 Strategic Planning Committee formed (11 members across all stakeholder groups)
MAR 3, 2025 First Strategic Planning Committee meeting ~50 hours of committee meetings held
APR 9, 2025 Draft plan shared with 71 volunteers signed up for feedback
MAY 6, 2025 Final strategic plan presented to and approved by the board
GISSV in 2030
By 2030, GISSV will be a leading bilingual international school known for:
Seamless academic transitions from preschool through high school with a clearly defined and promoted “Portrait of a Graduate”
Global college and career readiness pathways through academic programs that exceed both U.S. and German educational standards
Exceptional faculty and staff well-prepared to support students
Stable, strong leadership and governance
Multilingual excellence as a defining characteristic of learning
Two autonomous campuses with facilities that meet the needs of students, faculty & staff, and programming
A mission and values-based culture that fosters close relationships
Strategic Initiatives: GISSV
5 Pillars
Our strategy is focused on five central themes, each important on it’s own accord and central to the success of GISSV.
1 2
Academic Excellence in Bilingual Programming
3
Well-Maintained Facilities
Valuing Faculty and Staff to Elevate Student Learning
4
5 Centering Culture to Connect and Empower Our Community
Two Autonomous Campuses with Stable Leadership
Academic Excellence in Bilingual Programming
1Goals
Our educational philosophy integrates critical thinking, curiosity, and cultural openness—values that define both our German heritage and our location in the innovative Silicon Valley. To support and enhance our curriculum, we are committed to continuously reviewing and enhancing our instructional strategies and programming to support academic progression and readiness at all levels of the school.
Our goal is to ensure that every GISSV student benefits from the unique characteristics that define our school—an extraordinary combination of rigorous dual diploma programming, bilingual education, and the innovative, forward-thinking environment of the Bay Area.
Programs and structures that emphasize and support bilingual excellence are in place from preschool through high school. Transition pathways from preschool through high school are clearly articulated and support both students and families. GISSV’s Portrait of a Graduate is defined and promoted. GISSV’s academic offerings allow students to meet and exceed both German and U.S. educational standards. Competitive offerings for college readiness support students’ college preparedness.
Well-Maintained Facilities
Goals 2
As we look ahead to the future growth and sustainability of GISSV, it is essential to assess each campus’s unique strengths and limitations to inform a long-term location strategy.
AT THE MOUNTAIN VIEW CAMPUS, the diverse range of programmatic needs and the size of our community are stretching the current facilities to their limits. Our lease agreement with the Mountain View Whisman School District allows the landlord to terminate the lease as early as mid-2030. However, it also locks GISSV into unfavorable terms. Due to this uncertainty, GISSV has made only minimal investments in maintaining the Easy Street campus, which has led to several shortcomings that will need to be addressed while we continue to occupy the current facility and plan for a future move to a permanent campus.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CAMPUS
currently meets many of the needs of our school’s offerings. The location is well-positioned, attractive, and welcoming to preschool and middle school students. Gaps arising from the projected growth of the San Francisco campus to accommodate 9th and 10th grades and to provide all classes and programming in San Francisco will be addressed within the constraints of the current facilities or via partnerships/rentals over the next five years. Expansion to 11th and 12th will be considered during the next strategic plan based on enrollment and financials, if feasible. Additionally, the existing lease agreement offers long-term stability and predictability beyond 2030.
The current Mountain View campus on Easy Street is renovated to a presentable and adequate level by spring 2026. There is a permanent Pre-12 campus in the Peninsula for the Mountain View community by 2030. There are facilities in San Francisco that allow students from PreS to 9 to attend all classes for the school year 2026/27, and a plan to increase capacity to host 10th-grade students by 2027/28.
Valuing Faculty & Staff to Elevate Student Learning
In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, the success of any institution hinges on the continuous growth and effective collaboration of its faculty and staff. For GISSV, supporting our faculty and staff by investing in comprehensive professional development is not only a commitment to academic excellence but also a crucial driver for creating a cohesive, innovative, and responsive educational community.
By fostering an environment that values regular feedback, targeted support, and clear delineation of roles and responsibilities, we are positioning our school to meet both current challenges and future opportunities with agility and confidence.
Ultimately, the strategic emphasis on faculty and staff development, coupled with a strong focus on their well-being, is envisioned to cultivate a dynamic and supportive learning environment— one where every educator and staff member is equipped, engaged, and inspired to drive educational innovation, uphold the esteemed traditions of our institution, and ultimately, foster student success. This investment in our people is an investment in our future, ensuring that we remain a leading light in international education.
Goals
A comprehensive professional development plan is established and communicated. Comprehensive support, feedback, and evaluation practices for all faculty and staff are enhanced and communicated.
Roles, responsibilities, and expectations across the organizational structure are clarified and communicated.
Centering Culture to Connect & Empower Our Community
A positive and welcoming culture is essential in achieving GISSV’s mission and successfully delivering a world-class bilingual curriculum and academic program in a distinctive format to a multicultural community in the Bay Area. Strong relationships are at the heart of everything we do at GISSV. We are committed to continually enhancing collaboration, addressing communication gaps, and strengthening the relationships between school administration, teachers and staff, students, and parents.
GISSV’s core values are defined and communicated. Clear expectations for all members of the community are established and upheld.
Furthermore, a focus on supporting student social-emotional growth enhances their learning and participation in our community. Nurturing a culture of openness, transparency, and collaboration and establishing transparent feedback systems will help build trust and strengthen relationships across the school community.
Practices to build strong relationships and trust between students, teachers, staff, families, and school leadership are established and maintained. Student learning is supported by specific social-emotional programming to enhance balance, resilience, and mental health. Communications at all levels are clear, transparent, and effective in relaying information and engaging the community.
Programs and structures to enhance engagement with all community constituencies are established or strengthened.
Two Autonomous Campuses with Stable Leadership
Goals 5
The San Francisco and Mountain View campuses are located in geographically distinct markets that differ in community expectations and competitive landscape. GISSV is committed to running two autonomous sites and to fully and effectively serving both campuses. Autonomy means that both campuses remain in one corporate non-profit structure with clear division of responsibilities. Separate budgets will reduce the risk of one campus perpetually subsidizing the other.
GISSV is led by a single board of directors, which supports a single school leader who is responsible for two school campuses. In order to support the two campuses as autonomous sites led by unified leadership, a corporate structure and policies need to be adopted that ensure the long-term stability of this strategy. Creating autonomy means moving decisionmaking to the campuses in well-defined areas of responsibility while understanding which competencies remain centralized.
For GISSV, autonomy means that the daily operations of a campus are not dependent on the resources or decision-making of the other campus. Further, it means that general policy (e.g. financial aid, staff development, etc) can be supplemented or amended and tailored to the needs of each campus. Each campus will deliver the curriculum within a program tailored to its audience and competitive environment. With the exception of a campus leader, all teaching and aftercare staff report to a local supervisor.
GISSV is, and remains, one school, one corporate entity, with one curriculum, one school calendar, with standardized academic service and business functions.
GISSV’s organizational structure fully supports the autonomy of both campuses and withstands leadership and board transitions, ensuring stability.
GISSV’s policies and procedures are codified to define the autonomy of each campus.
GISSV maintains separate budgets, accounting, and P&L for each campus to create transparency and allow for autonomous financial decisions and tuition setting.
Mountain View Campus
310 Easy Street
Mountain View, CA 94043
office@gissv.org (650) 254-0748-300
San Francisco Campus 117 Diamond Street San Francisco, CA 94114
sf-office@gissv.org (650) 254-0748-501 www.gissv.org