Give your students the opportunity to expand their global perspective and develop authentic connections with peers from a different part of the world. Through our School Exchange Program, we´ll match you with a partner school in Europe that will host you and your students for 9 to 15 days. Your students will attend school daily and stay with the families of their exchange partners, allowing them to truly explore, understand, and dive deep into the target language and culture. As your students fully immerse into the life of their host family and school, they´ll rapidly develop their language skills and experience a type of personal growth and empowerment that can only happen in this unique setting.
Your entire school community benefits as your partner school will send a small group of students to you for a reciprocal experience — giving all students, not just those that travel, the opportunity for cultural exchange and connection.
How does it work?
To begin the process, submit an Exchange Program Request Form on our website. We´ll find the best match for your school based on the details you provide us. Once we find a match, we´ll email you and your partner school to begin your collaboration.
You and your partner school will determine exact travel dates (each stay will be between 9 days and 2 weeks) and will pair your students to be exchange partners. Students will stay with the families of their exchange partner and will host their partner when your partner school visits the U.S.
During their stay abroad, your students will attend school with their peers and be fully immersed in daily life like any other member of the school community and family. They´ll share meals together with their host family, participate in social activities and athletics, and follow the normal routine of their exchange partner.
Review the basic program requirements below, then complete the Exchange Program Request Form. We strongly encourage interested teachers to fill out the request form EARLY as it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to find an exchange partner.
To participate in an exchange program, you must first have:
- Authorization to run the exchange program at your school.
- Capacity to host a group of visiting students in families between nine days and two weeks. Capacity to accommodate, in class and within your school, a group of visiting students between four and seven days (exact schedule to be determined by schools).
- Minimum group size of nine students and one organizing teacher who will both travel and host. You may be required to adapt your group size based on your partner school´s number of participants.
- Host families should be selected by the organizing teacher based on the family’s capacity to provide a welcoming and safe environment for a visiting student.
- Activities (either curricular or extracurricular) coordinated by the school for the visiting students are encouraged.
For more information, download our Teacher´s Guide to Exchanges, or view the sample exchange program itineraries below.
Ready to get started? Complete the Exchange Program Request Form.
