25 years Dutch School
In 2026, Dutch School celebrates its 25th anniversary.
For 25 years, we have been providing high-quality Dutch language education to children, teenagers, and adults living outside the Netherlands.
What started as a small initiative for Dutch families in a converted basement at Martin Kast’s home has grown into an international school community where the Dutch language, culture, and connection play a central role.
Further down on this page, we give the floor to Anke, who has worked with dedication and passion for the school for the past 24 years and has witnessed the school’s development up close.
To mark this 25-year milestone, a special Dutch School tile has been designed, which is also available as a commemorative anniversary item.
Dutch School supports students in learning, maintaining, and deepening their Dutch language skills, wherever they live.
Through on-campus classes and a strong online program, we reach families all over the world. Our school connects generations, cultures, and continents, ensuring that Dutch remains a living language, both at home and at school.
This 25th anniversary is a moment to reflect on everything we have built together with students, parents, teachers, volunteers, and partners. At the same time, we look ahead. With renewed learning pathways, modern teaching methods, and an international focus, we continue to invest in the future of Dutch education abroad.
25 years of Dutch School – building language, identity, and the future together.
Anke Shares Her Story
Twenty-four years ago, I was asked to come teach at the Orange County location, which at the time was still in Orange, near the Chapman exit. We started small. Two classrooms. A preschool group with exclusively Dutch-speaking parents and an NT2 group. No curriculum. No outside support. Just enthusiasm, improvisation, and the conviction that this was important.
Originally, I come from secondary education, so teaching preschoolers was completely new to me. But we sang, played, built vocabulary, and most of all had a lot of fun. The school was small, the atmosphere warm and engaged. Nobody did this for the money. Everyone did it for the children.
At the time, I truly thought we would stay in California for no more than three years. I never expected this to become my long-term work.
From Pioneering to Professionalizing
Without a doubt, the biggest change in 25 years has been the professionalization of the school. Where we started without a curriculum, we have now been working for years in a structured and goal-oriented way. A school plan was introduced, inspections took place, and quality monitoring became part of our work.
The first inspection took place in one of the colleagues’ homes. We were a small, close-knit team. The inspectors were enthusiastic about our commitment, and that still characterizes this school today: tremendous dedication.
We grew from a preschool group and a few classes into full learning pathways. I have guided children from preschool all the way through grade 8. An entire group of students literally started with me as preschoolers and continued until the end of elementary school. That is something very special.
Shortly after I started, I was asked to become the location leader. I did that with great pleasure for many years. Later, it was decided to appoint one director for all locations. For me, that was a logical moment to return to where my heart truly lies: education. Teaching was something I never wanted to give up.
Since Covid, I have mostly been teaching online and I am responsible for our newly developed secondary education program. I also teach NT2 classes and work as an educational advisor. In addition, I regularly substitute, support colleagues, and remain academically involved. The ongoing changes in education present a challenge, and personal growth naturally follows. That suits me perfectly.
Professional Development
In 2011, I was asked to follow the professional qualification program through the Foundation for Dutch Education Abroad (Stichting Nederlands Onderwijs in het Buitenland). It was an intensive two-year program during which I completed a large part of the Dutch Pabo teacher training program. This officially qualified me as a primary school teacher within an NTC school.
It was demanding, especially with two young children, but academically it was incredibly valuable and enriching. It significantly broadened and strengthened my educational foundation.
Another important part of my professional development has been the annual training days in the Netherlands organized by Stichting NOB. There I met teachers from NTC schools all over the world.
What always stands out is the recognition: the same challenges, the same limited teaching time, and the same drive to pass on the Dutch language and identity to children.
These exchanges are incredibly valuable. You feel that you are part of a global network of dedicated professionals. The inspiration and knowledge I gained there always came back with me to our school, and it has contributed to the further professionalization of our education.
Traditions That Remain
Sinterklaas has always been the highlight. In the early years, one of the founders, Cecile Wijne, stood on stage leading everything, and later I took over that role. My own children, now 24 and 26, I can still picture them as toddlers waving their little flags to Sinterklaas.
King’s Day has always been a big community celebration organized by parents. Soccer, relays, food, and simply being together. It perfectly represents our school: education and community.
The annual professional development day with all teachers, which for many years has taken place at my home, is also a highlight. Growing professionally together, but also laughing together. That combination makes us strong.
What Makes This School Special
What touches me most is that children find something here that they do not experience at their American schools during the week: a feeling of coming home. I hear that again and again.
They grow up in California, but they also remain truly Dutch. They experience that their language is not a burden, but a richness. That they can successfully maintain connections with the Netherlands, or even move back there one day.
Of the preschoolers I taught in my early years, about 80 percent eventually returned to the Netherlands. They found their place there. That is no coincidence. It is an investment made by both parents and the school.
And honestly, I have never heard a sixteen-year-old complain that they spoke Dutch at home. But students whose parents did not invest that energy often later saw it as a loss that they had not acquired the Dutch language. That says everything about how valuable that language is.
What Has Motivated Me for 24 Years
Making a difference in the lives of children. Not with big words, but in small, everyday moments. A child who suddenly dares to speak. A student who discovers that Dutch is not “difficult,” but something that belongs to them. Words that first come hesitantly and later naturally.
Watching children grow from toddlers who speak only a few words to confident young people giving presentations in Dutch. Witnessing that process up close is a privilege. You help shape their identity, their confidence, and their connection with a country that sometimes feels far away, but never completely lets go.
And then there are the parents. Parents who drive, plan, and organize every Saturday for years. Parents who consciously choose to raise their children bilingually. And when the time comes to leave, they say goodbye with tears in their eyes, because they know this period was more than just lessons.
It was community. It was coming home. It was investing together in something that lasts.
That is the essence of 25 years of Dutch School SoCal. Not just language education. But meaning.
Looking Ahead
What do I wish for the school for the next 25 years?
Teachers with vision and dedication. People willing to invest time and energy in quality. Because this work asks a lot, but it is worth it.
To parents I would say: bilingualism is a gift that only you can give. No one else.
And to students I hope they carry with them the understanding that their Dutch identity is something to be proud of. That language opens doors. That it makes them stronger, wherever in the world they may end up.
After 24 years I can say one thing: this was never planned. But it has been one of the most beautiful professional adventures of my life.
Martin Kast - The story behind 25 years of Dutch School
Dutch School Southern California (DSSoCal) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, a milestone truly worth celebrating.
What many people don’t know is how it all began.
The origins of the school actually go back further than 25 years, to September 1996. Together with Ingrid Beunder, I founded the first Dutch Language School in Chicagoland, in Willowbrook, Illinois. I had just emigrated to the United States with my family and, like many other Dutch parents, I was concerned about maintaining the Dutch language for our children.
The school quite literally started in the basement of our home, with five children and a PABO-certified teacher—exactly what was needed at the time to qualify for recognition and funding through the NOB foundation. The school grew quickly, moved to a larger location, and is still going strong today.
From Basement Classroom to Thriving School Community
In 2000, parents from Los Angeles reached out to me with the wish to start a Dutch school there as well. Through extensive document sharing, phone calls, and guidance, Dutch School Los Angeles was born—the predecessor of what is now Dutch School Southern California (DSSoCal).
My involvement went beyond an advisory role. In 2003, I moved to Los Angeles for my work at the University of Southern California, and my children attended classes at the school in North Hollywood. I joined the board and served as chair for six years. During that time, the school continued to grow, expanding to new locations in Orange County and San Diego, which led to the name being changed to Dutch School Southern California.
To this day, I have remained involved, including through reading moments, themed days, and the annual visit of Sinterklaas. What once began with five children in a basement has grown into a thriving school community with hundreds of students, multiple locations, and a strong online program.
The school brings the Dutch community together and helps children understand what it means to be Dutch. My own children, who have now lived in the United States for nearly thirty years, still consider themselves Dutch. Next year, my very first grandchild will even start at Dutch School Southern California.
For these reasons, I wish Dutch School every success for the next 25 years. It is more than worth it.
Dr. W. Martin Kast
Your story & Dutch School
Do you have a story or special memory connected to Dutch School?
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