OUR NEW SCHOOL YEAR STARTS
SEPTEMBER 12TH 2020!

German School Ventura

c/o Unitarian Universalist Church
5654 Ralston Street
Ventura, CA 93003

School Director E-mail: Denise.Ilktac-Lee@gasaschool.org

Directions

Welcome to our GASA School in Ventura, which opened it’s doors in September 2015.
We offer classes for children ages 4 – 17 and adults.

Our school currently offers 3 different classes / levels for children:

  1. Vorschule / Kindergarten
  2. Unterstufe / Mittelstufe ( A1 Level)
  3. Mittelstufe  ( A2 Level)

We prepare the students for the AATG Test and the DSD (Deutsches Sprachdiplom) levels A1 and A2.

Our adult class is a 12 week course, which at this time is for students that are at a beginner to low-intermediate level of German.

Follow our school on Instagram:  instagram.com/germanschoolventura

OUR FACULTY

Denise Ilktac-Lee: Principal  / K-teacher 

I was born and raised in Berlin as the daughter  of a Turkish interior designer and a German speech therapist. After graduating from the “Gymnasium”,  I have been working as an actress, speaker and host on stage, in front of the camera or behind a microphone for theaters, movies, television, events and radio stations. In 2002 I also began teaching “camera and theater acting” to children and teenagers. From 2008-2012 I studied Deaf Studies, German Sign language and Rehabilitation Sciences at Humboldt-University, Berlin. During that time I also worked as a social services case worker for families with disabilities. At the same time, I held interactive workshops for children and teenagers about alcohol and drug prevention, too. After getting married in Malibu in 2012, my husband and I settled in Berlin, Germany. A year later our son was born and in 2015 we decided to move to Ventura, California. I had the honor to join Ventura`s GASA school in 2016. I am looking forward to my third year as a teacher and my first year as a principal!

Ariane Karakalos: A1- teacher

Born and raised in a small town close to Kassel, Germany, I spent my college years in several locations including Leipzig, Germany, Indianapolis, Indiana and Tucson, Arizona. I earned my degree in Cultural and American Studies. In 2006 my husband and I settled in Ventura where I enjoyed working in the exhibition department at the Museum of Ventuta County for several years. Concurrently, I discovered the joy of teaching my native language to children and adults with GASA in Thousand Oaks, California. Soon after, I shifted my attention to raising my two children. I am now excited to be back in the ‘teaching saddle’ with GASA in Ventura!

Claudia Dippong: A2-teacher

(picture is coming soon)

Sabine Schafer-Mitchell

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After growing up in Baden-Baden, Germany and finishing my apprenticeship in Admini- stration, I attended Freiburg University, earning a teaching credential to instruct middle school English, Geography, Social Studies.  Upon graduating, I took a two year assignment in North Carolina to teach ESL, after which I moved to Ventura, CA – got married and had two sons. In addition to raising two active boys, I have been working as a part time German, ESL and substitute teacher. I also earned my Single Subject Credential in German. In 2014 I joined the GASA school in Thousand Oaks and a year later pursued the opportunity to open this GASA school in Ventura. It has been a wonderful experience and I am looking forward to many more years with GASA!

About Us

Multilingualism is the norm in most of the world and we believe that children who speak and write more than one language will be better prepared for life in the 21st century with its growing global economy. The best way to master another language is to start learning at an early age.

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