Summer Break Announcement
Office Hours Summer Break:
Monday through Friday: 10 am to 3 pm
Campus Tours:
Campus tours will resume once the new school year begins on August 20. We would be delighted to welcome you for a private tour. Please contact admissions@giswashington.org to schedule your visit.
First Day of School:
For School Entry Level (5-year-olds) and Grade 2 through 12: Thursday, August 20th, 2026
For Preschool and first Grade: Monday, August 24th, 2026
Öffnungszeiten für Besucher ohne Termin während der Sommerferien:
Montag bis Freitag: 10:00 bis 15:00 Uhr
Campusführungen:
Campusführungen sind ab Beginn des neuen Schuljahres am 20. August wieder möglich. Gerne begrüßen wir Sie zu einer persönlichen Schulführung. Bitte kontaktieren Sie admissions@giswashington.org, um einen individuellen Termin zu vereinbaren.
Erster Schultag:
Für die Schuleingangsstufe (5-Jährige) sowie die Klassen 2 bis 12: Donnerstag, 20. August 2026
Für den Kindergarten und die erste Klasse: Montag, 24. August 2026
New Name. New Mission Statement. New Logo.
New Name. New Mission Statement. New Logo: Effective August 2017 the Deutsche Schule Washington D.C. will be known as The German International School Washington D.C. (GISW):
Potomac, Maryland – The German International School Washington D.C. (GISW) will celebrate the official unveiling of a new name, mission statement and logo in the presence of honored guests on August 16, 2017 at 4:30 pm, as part of the Welcome Night, the School’s annual kick-off event for the new school year.
German International School Washington D.C.
Independent. Bilingual. Weltoffen.
The German International School Washington D.C. (GISW) a private, co-educational K-12 German/English bilingual school located on a lush 17-acre campus in Potomac, Maryland, provides students with a unique international perspective by combining the best of both US and German academic education. Graduates earn two diplomas - the German International Abitur (DIA) as well as a U.S. High School Diploma. The re-branding is the visible expression of the School’s educational philosophy and the international character of the student body, which currently hails from over 20 different countries.
"With the renaming of our School and our new mission statement, we celebrate the growing international character and diversity of our student body, bilingualism, and the tolerance and openness of our School community. At the same time, the German International School Washington D.C. (GISW) is rising to the challenge of maintaining an excellent, modern, progressive German School Abroad and an attractive school choice for parents and students in the Washington, D.C. area" Petra Palenzatis, GISW Head of School, said.
German International School Washington D.C .:
Founded in 1961, the German International School Washington D.C. (GISW), is the oldest and largest accredited German School Abroad in North America, currently serving over 510 Pre-K to 12th grade students and fostering German-American friendship for over 55 years. GISW provides students with a unique, stimulating and multicultural environment and a challenging German curriculum including advanced Science classes and the opportunity to become fluent in English and German, as well as proficient in French, Spanish and Latin. A German education enjoys an outstanding reputation internationally and GISW Graduates have gone on to study at prestigious universities in Germany and the United States as well as several other European countries and around the world.
