High school exchange students reach record numbers in 2015

International Experience – USA, a high school student exchange organization, announced that its will welcome a record number of students to U.S. communities in the fall of 2015, mirroring a national trend. According to the Council on Standards for International Education Travel) 200,000-plus exchange students are expected in 2015.

As the leading English-speaking host country of foreign exchange students, the United State has seen an increase in high school exchange participants of about 13 percent in the past decade. This upward trend is expected to continue as a growing number of international students seek both English fluency and cultural competency to prepare for the increasingly global marketplace.

Though many high schools once viewed exchange participants as “extra” students requiring the attention of teachers and staff, the popular opinion among administrators is shifting to “favor” exchange student enrollment as a natural way to integrate differing worldviews into the classroom. The U.S. Department of Education has stressed the importance of building the global competencies of U.S. students to make them internationally competitive, and many believe that welcoming exchange students into the high school setting can help toward that end.

Families who host an exchange student can benefit on a more personal level, forming family ties that last far beyond the boundaries of the exchange. Hosting an international student offers these local families a realistic way to explore a new culture right at home.

IE-USA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting education and understanding through intercultural and academic exchange.

To learn more, contact iE-USA representative Cynthia Rouillard at [email protected] or at (720) 315-2723.