Hi there,
We live in the US permanently so our kids were born and raised here. We will be moving to Zurich for 7 months in December and I wonder if anybody has experience with the transfer from a US school to a public Swiss school. In the US, the kids start school when they are 5 (Kindergarten) but in Switzerland they start 1st grade when they are 6 or 7. My kids are currently in 1st and 4th grade here. Should they go into the same grades in Zurich or would they have to be one grade up. They are both fluent in German (thank god).
Any comments on this subject are welcome.
Thank you.

The contrary, they might be one grade below.
There will be a public school cantonal test to evaluate them and depending on the result a grade will be selected.
It is possible (though quite unlikely) that you might have to struggle a little to get your 5 year old in 1rst grade. He/she will probably be put in kindergarden, if there is space.

I would heartily suggest that if your time in Switzerland is very temporary to keep both kids in an anglo-saxon school with a curriculum familiar to their current one, as not to disrupt them.

Swiss schools are excellent, the public system works well, but it is very different and takes time and adjustment.

Welcome to EF
Hope you enjoy your stay !

Once your move is confirmed, I would suggest that you contact the school authorities of the area where you are going to live...

I am sure there are very organised systems in place...

I wouldn't stress too much about the 'grades' situation - the school will have an opinion on this too - my suggestion would be to ask their current teacher in the US for a 'summary' of the sorts of things that they are currently doing, and maybe some work samples, and possibly have this roughly translated to German...so the teacher has an idea of what your children have done...

even changing from one 'similar' school to another, or one grade to another, you find kids have done some things the same, and others different, so your children are likely to have this experience, regardless of their grade - the social environment, being put with a good teacher that has the time for your child, and finding friends, that is more important...

If there is a specific syllabus area that is going to be significant for your child when they return to the US, then I would consider talking to their current teacher and asking for suggestions on whether they should bring some workbooks with them, maybe engage an english-speaking 'tutor' here for an extracurricular session once a week to keep them moving in that area...

Otherwise, expect that your children will learn a million things travelling that they would never learn sitting in a classroom...

Quite different approach from my own,
very valid points !!

Search function.

Thank you all for your comments.
My kids are already registered and per the Swiss Schulamt will go to 2nd grade and 4th grade (in the US they are in 1st and 4th), respectively. I have no doubt that my daughter will be just fine going into 4th grade but I have a feeling that the 2nd grade in Switzerland might be too tough on my son despite the fact that the 1st grade in the US is his 2nd school year. I think I have to contact the school directly to find out the exact curriculum and expectations per grade level. My kids speak German but School German will still be a challenge for them and I don't want to overwhelm my little guy (my daughter is very confident and should be fine). For those who groaned, there is lots of good stuff out there, but I haven't found anything detailed about grade level comparisons (US-Switzerland). But then again, I am new to this forum.
Sunny greetings from CA
Dorisl

I agree with your concern regarding your younger child. 2nd grade is a big jump, specially because they will be dealing with Swiss German not High German.Do kindly be advised that children tend to be older here in 2nd grade (at least 7) so 2 years can mean a lot to a 5 year old.

Wish you the very best and welcome to the forum.

You have a point I've never seen a thread comparing grades between the US and CH or CH and any other country for that matter.

On another thread I read that the teaching language in schools is standard German rather than Swiss German, although I guess this is what the kids will be using in the playground and at lunchtime. If the OP's kids have got a good command of standard German, the dialect should be easy to acquire within a few weeks or months.

For such a short stay, and I am not sure that there are that many people on this forum who have been in this situation,knowing they are here for just 7 months with no possibility of extension. I know situations where one parent stayed home with the kids and let the other partner come and work here. That would be a pity. I would just look at this as an "exchange experience", the opportunity for your kids to use their German, make some friends, and experience life in a different country.

It won't be 7 months of school, taking into consideration the school holidays. In the Kanton of Aargau, where I am familiar, the birthdate is the definitive factor in determining the appropriate grade level at this age. Forget about what grade they are in now, but do check about what the situation will be when you return home. You don't want your kids to be put back a year when you go back, as if they have failed and need to repeat the year. Discuss with the school now what you should do to keep up their academics..it might be as simple as bringing the school materials they have now.

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I thought that the teachers speak Swiss German with the little ones, but teach them to read and write High German ? (since of course Swiss German is not a written language )

The teachers are "supposed" to do all teaching in High German but the reality is closer to what you write below.