How To Apply

Thanks for your interest in our Kita: Zebra International Kindergarten!

We all know how difficult it is to find a good place in a kindergarten in Berlin, especially a bilingual kindergarten. That’s part of the reason we founded Zebra Kita in the first place! To keep you up to date on your options at our kita we’ve prepared the following how-to-apply guidelines.

We start by recording your contact details and getting you quickly into our applicant pool. To get the ball rolling, you’ll need to apply  on-line form

1. Parents’ names, contact telephone numbers, e-mail address, postal address and your nationalities.

2. Name of child, date of birth and sex.

3. The child’s language environment. ie: who speaks what language with the child and when.

4. Berechtigungsschein: How many hours of child care do you have approved by the city of Berlin’s youth services?

5. Any other information you think we should have.

Our pool of applications is not a list where you start at the bottom and slowly work your way up to the top as places are filled. When a position becomes available we, the parents and teachers, discuss what type of child is best suited to fill the space that has been vacated. That means finding a match of age, sex, etc. to compliment the group. Once we’ve discussed our options from the applicant pool, we invite a group of families to an informal meeting so we can all get to know each other a little better.

• So now some ground rules.

• Children have to be at least two years old to join Zebra Kita.You, the parents, also have to be willing to really get your hands dirty. We are a committed group actively involved in running the kita. That involves cleaning, cooking, supervising the kids, repair and handy work… the list goes on. Take a close look at the Concept and make sure you understand it before committing yourself. Effort is required but the rewards are great.

The base fee you pay at a public kita is the same that you’ll pay here. The figures are based on income and are publicly available at the Bezirksamt (neighborhood office). In addition to the income-dependent base amount, a standard food fee of 23 Euros applies.

Also, an additional fee of up to 50 euros per month will be levied. As of May 2014, the current extra fee is 30 euros but the Verein may vote to increase or decrease this according to the kita’s financial needs.

On top of that, we ask for a one-off 500 Euro security deposit on joining that will be refunded in full when your child leaves.

So, what can you do while you’re in the Pool? Stay informed by checking the website from time to time and drop us a line now and then to show us you’re still interested. That address again: apply@zebrakita.de

Good luck!

An important note: Regardless of what kita you are applying for, please tick the box on the Berechtigungsschein application that indicates that your language at home is überwiegend nicht deutsch (primarily non-German) if you can. Most of our families have English as a family language at home and therefore qualify, but many parents are not aware that the kita receives additional funding— at no extra cost to you — if you check this box.

So “überwiegend nicht deutsch” is an important checkbox on the Kita-Gutschein application.

The Gutschein (“coupon”) or Berechtigungsschein (“certificate of authorization”) is an official document from the city of Berlin that authorizes you to government-subsidized childcare. The subsidy is pro-rated by income for younger children. The last year of kindergarten before a child attends school is free — paid for by the city of Berlin. You present the authorization papers to the kindergarten you join when you sign the contract for care.

Note that Zebra is set up to provide care to kids with a Kitagutschein for 7-9 hours.