Tul(i)p School

Have you recently moved from The Netherlands or Belgium and are interested in continuing to study the Dutch language and culture? Are you planning to relocate to The Netherlands or Belgium and want to prepare yourself by learning some Dutch? Or do you simply have a passion for learning languages?

Everyone is welcome to the one and only Dutch School in Chicagoland! We offer Dutch language and cultural lessons in a classroom setting in Chicago, for children from pre-school to high school, online classes for NT3 students as well as for adults. Under the Chicago page you can find class times, activity calendar, address details and information over school fees.

Learning Dutch effectively happens through following a comprehensive program of reading, writing, conversation, listening, and last but not least, playing. Interested to learn more? Sign up for a free class today (elementary and high school classes only).

Sign up for your free class (elementary/high school)Anti-discrimination ruling - click to open Anti-discrimination ruling - close

The Tul(i)p First Dutch Language School in Chicagoland, does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

The Tul(i)p First Dutch Language School in Chicagoland, is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Dutch for elementary, middle and high school

The Tul(i)p School provides Dutch language and cultural lessons for elementary, middle and high school students. Our school is a member of “de Stichting Nederlands Onderwijs in het Buitenland (NOB)”, the organization of Dutch education in Foreign Countries.

Our school is committed to improve the Dutch language skills of students who live in the Chicagoland area and who have the intention to move (back) to the Netherlands or Belgium. In order to smooth the transition to the Dutch or Belgian educational system, our program also contains Dutch cultural lessons.

We use assessments and tests to evaluate the improvements of our students periodically. Students, who are not able to speak Dutch, first learn the basics of the oral and written language.

Three groups of students attend our school:
1. Students who use Dutch as their mother tongue,
2. Students for whom Dutch is a second language,
3. Students who do not speak Dutch.

At the first meeting, a decision will be made in which group a student will fit in and what goals will be worked towards. This decision is a team effort between the teaching staff and the parents/carers.

For more information in regards to the methods used, please contact our school at tulipschool@tulipschool.org.

Activity calender

Saturday Oct 14, 2023

Cultural Event: Children's book week!

Saturday Nov 25, 2023

No school: Thanksgiving weekend

Take a look

Take a look at our school newspaper (in Dutch) 'de Molenwiek' that all our students receive digitally 3 times a year. Don't forget to also visit our facebook page!

The schoolguide 2022-2023 is available for download.

Government education audit results

Please click here to view the full report on the inspection performed in October 2018.

Tulip School Wishlist

We gladly accept new/gently used book donations and typical Dutch items for our cultural events. Please take a look at our online wishlist. For more information go to our Sponsoring page.