Exchange Student Program Seeks Host Families

Nacel Open Door, an exchange program that places students in private schools in the United States, is looking for host families in Woonsocket for students attending Mount St. Charles Academy during the 2011-2012 academic year.

The organization’s private school program has been placing students in private schools in the U.S. since 2000. The program is distinguished from traditional exchange programs in its participants’ choice of schools, extended visits, and that students are able to graduate from U.S. schools and advance to American colleges and universities. The roughly four hundred participants enrolled in over a hundred U.S. schools have advanced through Nacel’s regimen of testing, screening, and interviews, and are college-bound, high-achieving students paying full tuition at some of the nation’s best high schools. Many have already spent time studying in English-speaking countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and students in the program do not require E.S.L. instruction.

Nacel’s Lyn Gordon is trying to place twin boys from Mexico in local homes for the 2011-2012 school year. The boys are juniors from the Yucatan Peninsula, and soccer fans hoping to compete for the school team. “Daniel wants to be a lawyer,” said Gordon, while Paolo is interested in “community service helping those less fortunate. My goal is to place them in soccer-loving homes with similar backgrounds.” State Department regulations prohibit exchange students from sharing a host family with another exchange student from the same country, so Gordon is looking for “apples-to-apples” homes. While Gordon doesn’t necessarily expect to find families that are parallel to the boys’ family in Mexico, she is trying to place the boys with families that are similar to each other.

Nacel supports the students and their host families throughout their participation in the program. The students and their families are responsible for all of the student’s academic expenses, including tuition, books and uniforms. Students have their own computers, insurance, and spending money. Host families are provided with a modest monthly stipend to cover room and board, but Gordon hopes each student will “be treated as a member of the family and not a guest.” Nacel Local Representatives like Gordon work closely with the students and their host families throughout their visits, and all parties are supported by the schools, as well.

Nacel just congratulated its first Mount St. Charles Academy graduate, a young man from Seoul, South Korea who will attend Boston University in the fall. He will be replaced in his former host family by two students. The exchange students attending Mount have had the full experience of American high school students, participating in school dances, the photography club, chorus, and a band that traveled to Ireland to perform.

“They study hard and take the S.A.T. and T.O.E.F.L. tests...They do volunteer work,” said Gordon. The returning students will continue to lodge with the families that hosted them this year, a testament to the good bonds that have developed. In addition to the returning students, a number of new participants, including the twins from Mexico, will attend Mount St. Charles in the fall.

Joseph O’Neill in the admissions department at Mount spoke highly of the exchange program, calling it a “ very organized, very well run operation, and praising the way Nacel’s coordinators remain involved in “all aspects of the students' experiences at Mount Saint Charles.” O’Neill also had insights into academic life for exchange students at Mount, particularly regarding college preparation.

“The international students have the same opportunities as all of our students as far as programs directed at the college placement process,” said O’Neill. “Guidance runs group sessions throughout the junior and senior years, as well as individual sessions with each student. Parent programs are available on the college placement process and the financial aid process; host families are invited and encouraged to attend."

O'Neill continued, “On their own, the international students this year set up an International Student Club and met regularly so that they could share experiences. They also sponsored a couple of activities for the entire school community to join them and learn more about their cultures and countries.”

To learn more about the Nacel Open Door program, about being a host family or even hosting an exchange student temporarily, visit www.nacelopendoor.org/ipsp, or contact Lyn Gordon at mabusy1@charter.net.