SHARE! High School Exchange Program
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[ SHARE! | Host Families | Exchange Students | Exchange Program Coordinators ]
Each year, the SHARE! High School Exchange Program matches over 600 students from more than 20 countries with American host families thoughout the United States. The students attend local high school for a full 10-month academic year beginning in August or for a 5-month semester beginning in August or January.
Host Families [ Return to Top ]
SHARE! host families represent the true spirit of America. They open their hearts and homes to students from around the world so they can share the American way of life while learning about different cultures and customs. Families are selected without consideration of race, religion, profession, or national origin, although English must be the primary language spoken in the home. Local ERDT/SHARE! Exchange Program Coordinators carefully screen host families for the qualities of interest, flexibility, happiness, stability, sense of humor, friendliness, and warmth. Factors for matching families with students are compatibility of interests and personalities (as indicated in interviews with the families and the student's application, and ages of the family members, although families need not have a teenager in the home to qualify. English must be the language spoken in the home. Host families provide room and board for the student. Although they receive no monetary compensation for hosting, the IRS allows each family a $50 deduction for each month the student lives with them.
Exchange Students [ Return to Top ]
ERDT/SHARE! high school exchange students, all between the ages of 15 and 18, are the best and the brightest from all corners of the globe: Western and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Republics, Scandanavia, Latin America, and Asia. The students make real contributions to their host family, high school, and community. They are not guest but rather actively participate as members of the family. Sharing their own country's culture, customs, politics, and even recipes with their host families, the students bring the best of their world to America.
They are carefully interviewed and screened in their home countries to ensure that they are proficient in English as well as academically and emotionally prepared. Students arrive with medical insurance and money to cover personal expenses. The exchange student application includes detailed personal and academic information as well as teacher recommendations, an English proficiency test, school transcrips with English translations from the three prior years, and medical/dental reports.
Exchange Program Coordinators [ Return to Top ]
ERDT/SHARE! Exchange Program Coordinators live in small towns, suburbs, and big cities throughout the United States. They coordinate the SHARE! Program at the local level by recruiting, screening, and orienting American families. Then they match them with exchange students, plan group gathers, and counsel families and students should any problem arise.
