Sister State exchange programs
One frequently under-advertised option for high school study
abroad is through sister city or sister state programs. Many cities and states
across America have agreements with multiple cities and states in other
countries for mutually beneficial exchange programs at all levels. Sometimes,
delegations simply visit to promote tourism or cross-cultural understanding.
Teachers visit and often teach at a sister school. Colleges have agreements
pertaining to semester or year-abroad programs. High school students can
experience short edu-tourism trips or extended study abroad opportunities.
Since these extended study abroad opportunities are often one-to-one exchanges (your
child lives with a family who then sends their child to your house) and
supplemented through the sister cities (or states) program, the price for these
experiences can be a real steal.
One such program I recently found out about is the
Wisconsin-Hessen Exchange Program. Wisconsin and Hessen are sister states and offer many of the exchange possibilities listed previously. If your family lives in
Wisconsin and your child has had some German language training (German II or
higher), this option may be ideal.
The basics
The cost is $450 + airfare to Frankfurt. Students have to
provide their own spending money, but the program provides a monthly allowance
during their stay.
This program is a one-to-one exchange. A German student will
live with your family from September through January. Your child will live with
that German family from February through April. The website says that the “stay
may be extended if all parties agree,” an option that is not available through
most high school study abroad programs.
Students must be at least sophomores during the year of
their exchange.
Your child will receive academic credit as determined by
local school district policies.
The Department of Education in the sister states provides
the staffing support.
The application process
The application is four pages (the shortest I have ever seen)
and could probably be filled out in a few hours. No teacher recommendations are
required, but your child will need signatures from a few school personnel,
including his/her German teacher. Applications are due in mid-February of the
year the exchange would start.
Students will be notified in April if they have been
accepted.
Overall impression
The family I spoke with had a daughter participate in this
program several years ago. After being accepted to the program, they had to
travel to Madison, WI, for orientation with the other participants. The
director of the program was helpful and accessible throughout the year. In
their opinion, one of the strengths of the program is that the hosting family
has a significant investment in the visiting child’s stay because their child
will be staying with the other family. Their daughter and the German exchange “sister”
became very close. She considers her host family to be her German “family” and
stayed with them frequently when she studied in Germany again during college.
Other states
Finding these types of programs requires a bit more digging
than the highly publicized options. Start by searching your state’s Department
of Public Instruction website for high school exchange programs.
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