About Anke Roost
With more than thirty years of experience working with children and young people, Anke Roost has built her career around one guiding principle: every child deserves to learn in an environment where they feel safe, curious, and capable of success. She has been a kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teacher, a social worker, a probation officer, a teacher trainer, and a school leader. Each role has strengthened her belief that education is not just about teaching subjects, but about shaping lives, nurturing resilience, and sparking joy in learning.
Anke began her career in the early 1990s in the former East Germany, where she became the region’s first school counselor. Children were navigating enormous social change, and she supported them through emotional, academic, and personal challenges. At the same time, she worked as a probation officer with young people in the justice system. These experiences showed her how easily children can lose their way without guidance, but also how powerfully they thrive when someone believes in them.
She later earned a degree in early childhood education and discovered the transformative power of play and curiosity in early learning. Wanting to broaden her skills, she became licensed to teach elementary and middle school, specializing in German, Mathematics, History, Biology, and Politics. This academic breadth gave her the flexibility to connect subjects and design meaningful learning experiences.
Her teaching philosophy is simple: children learn best when they explore freely, take risks without fear of failure, and find joy in discovery. In her classrooms, mistakes are opportunities, not setbacks, and children often learn without realizing they are being “taught.” She believes in removing pressure, honoring each child’s pace, and celebrating progress of every kind. “I love to see the joy on a child’s face when they discover something on their own,” Anke says. “Setbacks are not obstacles but powerful opportunities to build resilience.”
This philosophy has guided her across all age groups. Whether in early childhood classrooms or middle schools, she creates spaces where curiosity is encouraged and every child feels proud of their efforts.
Beyond teaching, Anke has taken on leadership responsibilities. One of the most challenging was overseeing the relocation of GISB’s new Lower Campus. It required not only organization but also empathy—ensuring families, staff, and children felt supported throughout. This experience underscored the value of clear communication, teamwork, and keeping children’s needs at the center of every decision.
Anke has also mentored new educators, helping them develop classroom management, teaching strategies, and reflective practice. She believes strong schools depend on strong teachers, and she finds deep fulfillment in supporting colleagues as they discover their own joy and purpose in the profession.
Her personal life has shaped her work as much as her professional roles. Raising her two sons has been her greatest privilege, reinforcing her conviction that education must be rooted in love, patience, and encouragement. She has strived to raise them as respectful, curious, and compassionate young men. In turn, they have taught her that every child needs time to find their own path, that mistakes are valuable, and that joy is the most powerful motivator. She brings the same care, high expectations, and unwavering belief to her students as she has to her children.
Anke’s passions outside of education also inform her leadership. For years she played professional handball, learning discipline, teamwork, and resilience—qualities she now applies to her work in schools. Today, she finds renewal in the forests around Wachusett Reservoir with her dog, where time in nature reminds her to slow down and observe closely. She is also an avid reader, finding in books the same endless curiosity she seeks to nurture in children.
Looking ahead, Anke’s vision for education is grounded in curiosity, joy, resilience, and respect. She wants schools to be places where diversity is celebrated, children feel safe to be themselves, and learning is a joyful journey rather than a stressful race. She hopes students leave school not only with knowledge, but also with the confidence to ask questions, the resilience to face challenges, and the empathy to build meaningful relationships.
As a leader, Anke views her role as supporting teachers, guiding children, and partnering with families. She sees leadership as collaborative, with all members of a school community learning from one another to create environments where educators feel valued, families feel welcomed, and children feel inspired.
Over the past three decades, she has walked alongside countless students, families, and colleagues. Each experience has deepened her conviction that education is one of the most powerful forces for good. At its heart, her work has always been about joy: the joy of seeing children discover something new, of watching them persevere through difficulties, of raising her own sons, and of knowing she has helped young people grow into themselves.
It is this joy—combined with resilience, curiosity, and care—that continues to inspire Anke Roost every day.
Our Mission
German International School Boston (GISB) is a bilingual independent school dedicated to opening a world of opportunity for every student. At GISB, curiosity, imagination, and a lifelong love of learning are at the heart of everything we do.
As one of 136 officially recognized International German Schools worldwide, GISB offers students a truly global education. Graduates earn both the Massachusetts high school diploma and the prestigious German International Abitur—an honors-level qualification recognized by top universities in Europe and the United States.
From language-immersion preschool through high school, our rigorous and creative curriculum is designed to ignite each student’s intellectual and personal potential, preparing them to thrive in an interconnected world. GISB has no prior language requirements for preschool, pre-K, or kindergarten, and offers a dedicated Fast Track program for students entering grades K through 5 who are new to German.
We invite you to experience the GISB community firsthand. To learn more or schedule a tour, please contact [email protected].
German International School Boston
GISB Lower Campus
46 Belmont Street
Watertown, MA 02472
https://gisbos.org/
GISB Upper Campus
57 Holton Street
Boston, MA 02134
https://gisbos.org/
To learn more about German International School Boston please click on this link: https://bostonparentspaper.com/schools/massachusetts/watertown/german-international-school-boston-lower-campus/
About Leaders in Education
Leaders in Education is a special profile series from Boston Parent, highlighting the vision, values, and leadership of heads of schools and key administrators across Greater Boston and the New England area. Through these features, we aim to give the community a deeper understanding of the people shaping children’s educational experiences.
