Check Around For Best Student Exchange Program
With the school year well under way, high school sophomores may be thinking about exchange programs for next year.
Sometimes local teachers can provide leadership in this area, but parents justifiably can be concerned about the quality, stability and financing of programs, or even the possibility that their children may be stranded far from home.
The non-profit Council on Standards for International Educational Travel in Leesburg, Va., which appraises student-exchange programs based in the United States, has just published the 1995-96 advisory list, its 11th annual reference. This lists high school programs that sought evaluation, paying a minimum of $550 as a fee, and have been approved by the evaluation committee.
The list gives data on 58 approved programs. Of these, only 37 send American students overseas; the rest bring foreign students to the U.S. Some of the programs deal with very few students or involve only specific high schools. But despite the tiny numbers, the influence of the standards set by this organization is wide.
Parents who read the council’s standards carefully - they are printed as part of the advisory list booklet - should be able to ask appropriate questions of the sponsors of any program.
Anne Shattuck, director of operations for the council, says parents should not feel timid about asking questions beyond a program’s brochure material. For example, the standards require that sponsoring organizations provide “adequate health and accident insurance” for all students and that parents should receive detailed information about it.
Most emphasized, however, is the need to determine who has “direct, hands-on control” of the placement and supervision of students. Often, teachers who organize semesters overseas and are nominally in charge have turned responsibility over to tour operators or travel companies. If this is the case, parents need to be able to learn who is really in charge.
Last spring, the council published further interpretations of its standards to guide organizations. These interpretations are printed in italics on a flier that comes with the advisory list.
The notations on advertising or promotion of programs will unfortunately strike a responsive chord with many parents. I have often felt uneasy about newspaper articles about forthcoming high school exchanges and was glad to see that what made me anxious was also considered improper by these educational experts.
Organizations are warned: When advertising for host families, some key words and phrases to avoid are: “wanted,” “urgently needed,” “anxiously awaiting,” “this is an emergency” and “please don’t let me be homeless” as a caption for a student’s photo.
A list of allowable phrases, including “a world of opportunity” and “open your hearts and home,” contains no tone of panic.
In several places, the guidelines and interpretations emphasize that students shall not be sought out for athletic ability by any “interested party.” The background of this rule can be found on sports pages, where obviously recruited high school athletes have been barred from school tournaments. Parents of students going overseas are probably equally wary lest their children be exploited for some local event.
The 1995-96 booklet covers programs in place for the current academic year. Approval of these 58 was granted after a review in April, after the programs were formulated. Decisions for next year could be based on this year’s list, but parents may make a final phone check in April 1996 to be sure that a program has retained its listing.
For more information:
“Advisory List of International Travel and Exchange Programs” is $8.50 from the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel, 3 Loudoun Street S.E., Leesburg, VA 22075; (703) 771-2040.
A bigger reference is “The I.S.S. Directory of Overseas Schools, 1995-96,” a guide to 535 schools with curriculums in English serving kindergarten to 12th-grade students. This 15th annual edition, prepared by the International Schools Service of Princeton, N.J., was published by Peterson’s Publishing Group.
Gina M. Parziale, the editor of the book, says it is principally designed for employees of multinational corporations going overseas, missionaries and others staying overseas for a semester or more who want their children to continue to learn in English. In addition, she said, it serves as an aid to teachers overseas who are job hunting.
“The I.S.S. Directory of Overseas Schools,” $34.95 in paperback, plus $6.75 domestic postage and handling, from Peterson’s, P.O. Box 2123, Princeton, NJ 08543; (800) 338-3282.