Pacific Cascades Area
AFS Intercultural Programs

AFS is the leading high school foreign exchange program, with opportunities to live and study in over 50 countries worldwide. 

WHY CHOOSE AFS?

Things to consider before endorsing a foreign exchange program

Hosting a foreign exchange student will bring the world to your school. Suddenly, history, social studies and language classes will have a face. Your students will learn about the world without ever leaving home. By hosting foreign exchange students, you not only contribute to the cultural richness of your school and community, you enrich the life of the students you host.

There are dozens of foreign exchange organizations to choose from. Some are religious. Others are recreational, travel oriented, or perhaps commercial in nature. Since your school is an educational organization, you will most certainly want a sponsoring organization that emphasizes education over travel and sight-seeing. To help you choose the right program for your school, AFS recommends consulting the annually updated Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) Advisory List at www.csiet.org. Annually, CSIET evaluates programs for educational perspective, organizational profile, student selection, orientation, placement, operations, student insurance and adherence to government regulations. Once you have verified the program you are considering is favorably listed with CSIET, you may want to consider some other questions such as:

What kind of support can the school, hosted students and host families expect?
Look for a program that provides enrichment opportunities and readily available counseling throughout the year. Support should include regular visits from area staff or volunteers, a locally available liaison and a 24-hour telephone support line for emergencies. AFS is characterized by its network of local volunteers and counselors with professional staff support. Ninety-seven percent of schools who host with AFS rated our service and support better than (67%) or equal to (30%) other programs.

How are host families selected?
Look for a program that carefully screens the host family, and matches them with the hosted student. This helps ensure compatibility and happiness of the entire family, and improves the probability of success in school. It is also important to determine if the family's participation is strictly voluntary. Families should choose to participate for the many joys of hosting, not financial gain. AFS families are carefully screened and they actively participate in the selection process. They receive no financial compensation for their decision to host. Eight out of ten schools surveyed by AFS expressed high marks for our host family selections.

How are the international students prepared for their integration into US life?
Leaving home and going to a new country is exciting, but it can be traumatic too, and every student goes through the ups and downs of adjusting to their new home. Be sure the organization you select provides in-depth orientations and local activities to engage the student. AFS works hard to provide quality orientations and activities for their hosted students. Eight out ten schools surveyed by AFS reported their expectations for hosting an AFS student were met or surpassed.

For More Information, go to AFS National website, www.afs.org/usa or call 1-800-AFS-INFO to talk to a live person. You can also email the AFS Pacific Cascades Area team at info@afscascades.org to find out how local volunteers can help you. Visit the CSIET website at www.csiet.org or contact them at 703-739-9050 or by e-mail at exchanges@aol.com.

Last revision October 22, 2006