NorthWest Student Exchange Local Area Coordinator Sheryl Longsworth has hosted several exchange students, including Louis in 2012. Photo courtesy of Sheryl Longsworth

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Responsible parents looking for ways to supplement the educational and personal growth opportunities for their children or themselves should consider hosting a teenage exchange student for an academic semester or year. Children and adults alike, by interacting daily with an international student, broaden their perspective on the world and discover new facts and ideas.   

NorthWest Student Exchange places international high school students with adults and families throughout the country. Exchange students add a dimension to the family dynamic. 

Benefits to the exchange students include honing their English language skills; learning about this country’s educational system; understanding U.S. social, political and cultural values; and establishing international friendships.  

Benefits to the hosts are similar. Not only can hosts learn about another culture and its values but they can view the U.S. through another’s eyes and thereby gain a broader understanding of the U.S.

Adults do not need to have children at home to host. Many childless couples, empty nesters and single-parent families have enjoyed exchange students. NorthWest Student Exchange places students from dozens of countries with local families who have varied interests. The international students are matched to a host family’s lifestyle and interests, according to NorthWest Student Exchange Local Area Coordinator Sheryl Longsworth.

Those unable to host can earn up to $175 for every student placed with referrals. Nonprofit organizations that refer families to Longsworth can receive $175 per student in the form of a donation to the organization. While hosts cannot be compensated for hosting, tax deductions might be available. Check with your tax preparer, Longsworth recommended.

“NWSE exchange students are closely screened for appropriate motivation, academic and language skills; our students have solid emotional and practical support from NWSE professional partners abroad, and from the students’ natural parents in their own countries,” Longsworth said. “Our students come with their own spending money, health and accident insurance. Hosts are not expected to be tour guides. Students are here to go to school to improve their English, not be tourists. NWSE local academic coordinators, like me, recruit, screen and orient local hosts and provide close support throughout the program.”

Flexible hosting terms are available, including hosting for a month, as a welcome host or on a trial basis. 

“My family has personally hosted students from France and China and we keep in touch with every student even years later,” Longsworth said. “While they stayed with us, they shared games they play at home with us, cooked their favorite meals and tried to teach us their language and share their culture. We also have been invited to stay at their family’s homes when we visit their country. One of our French students even calls me his ‘American mom.’”

For more information, go online to nwstudentexchange.org. To see the list of available students, visit online nwse.com/meet-our-students. Or contact Longsworth at 916-833-1218 or [email protected] or contact NorthWest Student Exchange at 877-850-3312 or [email protected]. 

“Students are placed with hosts quickly, so if you’re interested in a specific student, contact me as soon as possible so I can have that student ‘put on hold’ for you,” Longsworth said. “If that student is placed elsewhere, I will do my best to find another student that fits your or your family’s lifestyle and interests.”