General Information
GTEP is the largest German-American teacher enrichment program. Once started in 1986/1987 with seven Berlin educators to teach in Houston, TX, schools, it has expanded to include all of the 16 German states. From the beginning till today 1,145 teachers from Germany have enriched the lives of American students, as well as their own. The program is a true cultural exchange; the teachers join the staffs of public schools and become a part of the respective communities. Their lives (and their income) are no different from that of their American fellow teachers. GTEP is administered by the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation (CCF) and financed by the Berlin state government. The legal basis comes from formal agreements signed by the Commissioner of Schools in Berlin and the authorized partners in the US partner states. In Germany, the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation is responsible for the acquisition, information and pre-selection of German teachers interested in participating in the program. Each year, the schools participating in the program or planning to participate report their needs to offices in each of the states. At the same time CCF calls for applications in Germany and pre-screens the applying teachers. Only applicants, whom CCF considers outstanding, are admitted to compete for a US contract. The second phase in the selection process takes place during the job fair in Berlin in February. CCF interviews each candidate personally for 30 minutes to find out about their attitude, personality and views concerning the issues of methodology, discipline, and student performance. These interviews are in English to assure the applicant's fluency of language. A shorter second interview of all candidates that seem most suitable is videotaped for the U.S. job fairs. View the list of available German teachers for the 2010/2011 school year, with subjects and grade level they are certified for and their additional teaching experience (arranged alphabetically by school types): List of STEP-Teachers 2010/2011.While the teachers are in the United States, CCF and her American partners stay in contact with them and, thus, try to help them and their schools to overcome problems and misunderstandings. While CCF organizes a first orientation for the teachers prior to departure, additional pre-service and orientation efforts in the United States are necessary and need to be organized by the ISDs upon arrival. In most cases the German teachers teach their subjects in English at the levels that they are certified for (Elementary/Middle School/High School). That can be anything from Science to Special Education and from Latin to Music. They can be part of an immersion program and teach in German. In return for the German teachers going to work in schools in the United States, CCF runs an Educational Enrichment Program (EEP), a sort of summer school in Berlin, usually held in June of each year. Participants are invited to come to Berlin and take part in a 2-week seminar on education, economy, politics, etc. Applicants must come from schools hiring German teachers. CCF and her American partners set the frame for the hiring process, but signatures are exchanged between the school district and the individual teacher. The German teachers’ pay depends on qualifications as well as years of experience, and comes from US school districts. CCF “translates” the qualification, so that GTEP participants fit into US state pay scales. German teachers are hired to teach for one year, extensions are possible up to a maximum of 3 years. Application InformationSTEP Brochure (PDF, 279 KB)
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German Teacher Exchange Program (GTEP)