Celebrating 50 Years of Student Exchange
09/16/2024 01:46PM ● By WENDIE PECHARSKY
Fifty years is a long time for any relationship to endure, be it a marriage, a business, or another kind of partnership. So, it’s rather a big deal that The International Experience (TIE), an interna- tional exchange program that gives South Burlington High School (SBHS) students the opportunity to live with a family in a foreign country while attending classes at a partner secondary school, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this fall.
Chair of the Department of World Languages
at SBHS, Theresa Mazza, who is also a Spanish
language instructor and has overseen the
program since 2013, says that she is “thrilled
to celebrate a half-century of educational and
cultural exchange between South Burlington
High School and Schiller Gymnasium in Hameln, Germany,” adding that “it is the longest
continuous exchange between an American and a German high school in Vermont and, we
believe, the second longest in the nation.”
SPECIAL EVENTS MARK THE OCCASION
To commemorate this significant milestone, Theresa says the school district is organizing a series of events to honor the history of the partnership and the continuation of cross-cultural understanding and collaboration. “We will be having an all-school assembly at SBHS on the morning of Monday, September 30, and an evening celebration on Thursday, October 3, from 5-9pm.”
Several public figures have been invited to attend and speak at the assembly, including Rep. Becca Balint, Gov. Phil Scott, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Peter Welch. Theresa says she even sent an invitation to the German Embassy in New York City.
Students from the Schiller Gymnasium welcoming their South Burlington partners as they arrive in Hameln, Germany.
A LOOK BACK AT TIE’S BEGINNINGS
Established in 1974 by Tim Kahn (World Language Department Chair from 1973- 1997) with the help of CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) and later guided by the participation of German instructor Robert Schermer, this program has provided the opportunity for an average of seventeen students per year from SBHS and two chaperones to welcome students from Schiller Gymnasium every other fall and then to travel to Germany for about two and a half weeks. They spend time in Munich, Berlin and then with host families in Hameln, Germany.
Hameln is the historic town of the Pied Piper in northern Germany, not far from Hannover. Students have been exchanged regularly since the program began in 1974, and several faculty members and the principals of both SBHS and Schiller Gymnasium have participated in the program as chaperones.
FOUR COUNTRIES PARTICIPATE
The exchange program also is in partnership with Lycée Laure Gatet, located in Périgueux, France; Colegio Montessori, located in Salamanca, Spain, and Futaba High School in Otaru, Japan. In all four participating countries, students partake in family life, school life, and many excursions arranged by the host school. “TIE is a program for students interested in meeting and interacting with people from a different country and cultures,” Theresa says, stressing that it is not a travel program or a vacation. “Students are challenged socially, emotionally, and intellectually, and they will experience a mixture of joy and frustration as they interact with new friends and adjust to new situations in a foreign environment.”
Parents and students acknowledge that TIE is a one-on-one exchange program. That is, students who are hosted by families in Vermont, in turn, host students from Vermont in their homes.
South Burlington students in Hameln, Germany, the home of the Pied Piper
FIVE DECADES OF DIVERSE EXPERIENCES
SBHS Principal Patrick Burke, who has wholeheartedly supported and participated in this program over the years, is quoted as saying, “Over the past five decades, the students, educators from across all disciplines who taught in our school, principals and superintendents, counselors, school support staff, families, and communities involved in this remarkable program have cultivated enduring bonds, enriched their lives with diverse experiences, and fostered a deeper understanding of our global interconnectedness. The exchange program has bridged continents and shaped the lives and perspectives of countless youth and adults alike.”
In fact, Theresa says, “Two students who met in the program are now married and live abroad.” SBHS hosts students from Germany, France, and Spain in the fall, while groups of Vermont students go to Spain, France, and Germany in late February and March. SBHS hosts Japanese students in mid-March, and students travel to Japan in mid-June.
South Burlington and German students from TIE 2017 standing in front of Schiller Gymnasium in Hameln, Germany.
KNOWING A LANGUAGE IS BENEFICIAL
Students traveling to Spain and France are often in situations where no one speaks English. Because of this, students who apply for these programs must be enrolled in at least Spanish 3 or French 3 during the academic year in which they will be going abroad, and they must demonstrate proficiency in spoken Spanish or French.
Enrollment in a German language course is not required to participate in the German program; however, some preference is given to students currently enrolled in German and who will be enrolled in the academic year in which they will be going abroad.
There is also no language requirement to participate in the Japan program. When asked how students handle the language gap, Theresa says, “We get a lot of help from the teachers at Futaba High School in Otaru. In fact, this past year was the first time we sent a group of students from our school without their Japanese teacher. They did fine.”
MOST WHO APPLY ARE ACCEPTED
On average, Theresa says, around twenty-five students apply for the Spain and France programs each school year and between twenty to twenty-five are accepted. Approximately eight to fifteen apply for the Japan and German programs, and most are accepted.
“There is an application process,” Theresa says. “Students write an essay, must submit two letters of recommendation, and are interviewed. They must also have a C- or above average in all classes to be considered.”
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM
In all, she says, since the program began, about fifteen hundred SBHS students have partic- ipated in all four exchanges. “The best part of the program for me,” Theresa says, “aside from seeing the obvious boost in confidence, cultural awareness, and social skills it provides our students, is getting to know the exchange students and watching them learn and grow while experiencing Vermont hospitality and culture for the first time.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TIE
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about the 50th Anniversary of the TIE German program, go to the TIE website at www.sites.google.com/sbschools.net/the-international-experience/home
