The German American School Association (GASA) proudly announced the recent grand opening of its new German Saturday Schools in Tucson, Arizona. The school in Arizona, first of its kind in the state, joins the 12 GASA campuses in Southern California, and one in Las Vegas, Nevada, in offering classroom-based German language programs to children ages 4 - 17 in its Saturday Schools.
The large community of German-speaking families in the Tucson area were overjoyed to have their oft-asked question of where their children could learn to speak, read, and write German finally answered, said Maria Brandauer, the new Tucson school director, who also teaches a small German class at the private International School of Tucson.
Brandauer credits Frank Duscha, the former language advisor for the German Central Agency of Schools Abroad, for bringing the Saturday school concept to Tucson, when earlier this year, he reached out to Rita Reiff, President of GASA, who also thought it an excellent idea. Thanks to the both of them, 23 children are now provided with German language instruction every Saturday.
“Hopefully, we will grow further when more families discover the value and fun of their kids reading German books, chatting with their friends in German or writing birthday cards to their grandparents in Germany. I am confident that the German Saturday School is here to stay in Tucson, Arizona,” Brandauer said.
The German American School Association (GASA) offers German language programs for children at Saturday School campuses (ages 4-17) and Kinderland Schools (ages 3-5). Classes on Saturdays are held from 9am-12:00 noon, September - May, and Kinderland Schools offer twice-weekly sessions in the morning or afternoon. In addition, the Northridge campus offers Adult conversational German, beginning to intermediate, Saturday mornings, 9am-12 noon, and GASA also offers small group online classes twice a week as well as Parent & Me classes for ages 1-3 at select campuses.
(c) http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/GKs/LOSA/2013/10/09Gasa.html / Photos Courtesy of GASA