Your Name and Title: Thomas Kennelly, Program Director
School or Organization Name: Boston Latin School
Co-Presenter Name(s): Stewart Johnson
Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Boston (USA) & Beijing (China)
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience(s): High school administrators, global ed program directors and World History and Chinese language teachers
Short Session Description: 4 Key Elements of a Successful Two-Way Homestay Exchange Program
Full Session Description: The session will be an interactive case study on how Boston Latin School has built a successful two-way homestay exchange program with the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University supported by Alpha Exchange.
We will share 4 key elements of our program that have enabled us to make it successful and sustainable:
(1) Affordability: we implemented an integrated fee structure between hosting and travelling that has allowed our students to travel to Beijing and Xi’an for as little as $500
(2) Relationships: we use an online application to pair students based on common interests, reducing work for our teachers and improving pairing accuracy
(3) Clear Goals: our inter-disciplinary focus integrates the program with both the World History and Chinese language curriculum, allowing more students to participate and learn about China
(4) Customization: we have a system that customizes course schedules for all visiting students online, improving their engagement and our program management
Our case study will provide practical steps for building or improving a two-way student exchange program with Chinese sister schools that should hopefully be applicable to any high school anywhere planning similar exchange programs (whether with China, US or other countries).
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: http://bls.org/, http://alpha.exchange/
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