German teachers Pia Zeller and Birgit Priester saw steady interest in learning the language, while fewer public schools offered German.
So they opened a German language school with the help of other local teachers, combining their students and adding more.
Now, the Boulder School for German Language and Culture is starting its fourth year, holding classes for 120 students from babies to adults at Atonement Lutheran Church.
“Every year we expand our program,” Zeller said. “We’re very excited.”
The school starts with a parent-child German immersion music class and goes up to advanced classes for teens and adults.
Priester said she teaches her students the language through music, movement and storytelling.
“Language should be fun,” she said. “It has to be linked to music and adventures.”
On the advanced side, the school enrolls 13 children and teens in a German assessment program, with a goal of fluency for students so they can earn a certification that allows them to attend a tuition-free German university.
The certification program is offered through a partnership with the German government. Locally, Shining Mountain Waldorf School, a small private school, also offers the certification program.
Along with classes, the Boulder German school offers a book group for fluent German speakers, a library of German books and three cultural events a year.
The Saint Martin celebration, which includes a lantern walk, is Nov. 11. In December, the school hosts an Advent and Saint Nikolaus holiday celebration. Then in May, there’s a May Day celebration.
Priester said those who enroll include a large area population of those with German heritage plus people who want to travel, work or study in Germany.
“The Boulder area is very international,” she said. “People like to be exposed to languages other than their own.”
Fourth-graders Ada and Arlene Solis said they’ve learned to speak some of the language and really like learning German songs and German food.
“It’s really fun,” Ada said.
Their mom, Shelia Solis, said she first enrolled them because she liked the school’s approach to teaching language, using songs and games.
“I love the community aspects of the school,” she said, adding she hopes her daughters can participate in a German exchange program in high school.
Rebeca Gonzalez and Fernando Rosario enrolled their daughters so they could continue to develop their German language skills after the family spent a year in Zurich, where the main language is German.
The girls are already fluent in English and Spanish.
“We wanted them to continue what they learned,” Rebeca Gonzalez said.
Amy Bounds: 303-473-1341, boundsa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/boundsa
