Today we’d like to introduce you to Svenja Iglesias.
Hi Svenja, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I moved from Germany to the United States in the year 2000 after completing my Master’s degree in Education at the University of Essen. My firstborn daughter was just 18 months old, and we began this new and exciting life in Florida.
Shortly after our arrival in our new home, I found a German-speaking mommy-and-me group in western Broward County. We met at different playgrounds with our children, and friendships quickly formed.
Soon, some of the mothers asked me to teach their children reading, writing, and language arts in German, and this is how it all began.
My first class consisted of five children, whom I taught German at a first-grade level at my daughter’s preschool in Davie on a weekly basis. We later moved the classes to Saturdays and expanded the program to include science, social studies, and art classes, all taught in a full German-immersion setting. I also added German as a foreign language classes for children and adults, and soon we hosted our first German Summer Camp.
There was strong demand for a German school and community in South Florida, and the school grew steadily. We were recognized by the German government as a German School Abroad and began offering the Deutsches Sprachdiplom, AP German, and the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) National German Exams. We relocated several times, outgrowing each location, until we finally purchased our own facility in the heart of Broward County—licensed for 74 children, featuring five spacious classrooms and three beautiful playgrounds. This is, where you can still find us today!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A great deal of passion, dedication, and love has been poured into the German-American School of Ft. Lauderdale. The journey has been mostly smooth and steady, with the exception of relocating a few times and navigating the challenges of the COVID years.
We closed our doors for only a few months. During that time, our language classes moved online, while the daily German preschool program remained open to support the children of first responders, nurses, and other essential workers who depended on childcare. Running a preschool during the pandemic was not an easy task, but it taught us invaluable lessons, and we emerged stronger in the end.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
When I moved to the United States from Germany, I had just completed my Master’s degree in Education and originally planned to work as a teacher. Teaching and working with children have always been my passion.
As the German-American School of Ft. Lauderdale continued to grow, I began wearing many hats. While I started out as a teacher, my responsibilities soon expanded to include sales and marketing, finance, human resources, operations, and overall management duties such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In addition, I now oversee daily activities including administration, customer service, data management, and ensuring that the school remains fully compliant with all licensing and inspection requirements.
In addition, we decided that obtaining accreditation would help us stand out as a high-quality early childhood education facility. Last year, we renewed our APPLE accreditation (Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment) for the third time. Each renewal requires significant effort from my entire team and is valid for five years. I am very proud of this achievement.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are many ways to work and collaborate with our school. We welcome parents, community members, and organizations to visit our school, volunteer, and share their ideas, skills, and talents to enrich our students’ learning experiences.
In the past, we had a strong PTO (Parent-Teacher Organization) that organized wonderful school events such as Oktoberfest, St. Martin’s celebrations, and Christmas events. The support and involvement of our families have always been greatly appreciated. We continue to have many families who actively help and support us during school events.
The Davie Fire Department visits our school annually and provides the children with a fire truck demonstration. All of these partnerships and relationships are deeply valued, support our school community, and are a true enrichment for our students.
Pricing:
- Registration and Material fee for preschool and language school: $190.00 annually
- Full Immersion German Preschool Program monthly 1:00 pm pick up: $830.00
- Full Immersion German Preschool Program monthly 3:00 pm pick up: $1070.00
- Full Immersion German Preschool Program monthly 6:00 pm pick up: $1275.00
- German Language Classes Wednesdays 1h, monthly: $110 German Language Classes Wednesdays 2.5h, monthly: $250.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.germanschoolfl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanschool_ft._lauderdale/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100028835666599
