How many foreign exchange students are studying in the Fox Cities? More than you might think
Reader question: How many foreign exchange students are attending Appleton schools this year? What about Neenah? Do the students pay tuition, or is that waived?
Answer:Appleton has 13 foreign exchange students this year, and Neenah has six. They are not alone.
Kaukauna has four exchange students, and Kimberly, Little Chute and Menasha each have two, bringing the total for the six school districts to an impressive 29 students.
Mark McQuade, principal of Appleton West High School and Appleton Technical Academy, said hosting an exchange student benefits both the student and the school.
"For the student, it provides an opportunity to learn about Wisconsin culture as part of American culture, further develop language skills, and to grow in independence while forging relationships that will last a lifetime," he said.
"For the school, it provides another opportunity for the exchange student's peers to learn about another culture and to support a peer who is away from home for an extended period of time. We have a long history of hosting exchange students at Appleton West High School, and the benefits have always been tremendous."
To facilitate the exchanges, no tuition is charged to students who attend Appleton schools under the sponsorship of a school board-approved student exchange organization.
None of the other Fox Cities school districts charges tuition, either.
Appleton teacher Lori Koehler has been involved in foreign exchanges for 10 years as a host parent and eight years as a local placement coordinator. She said the exchanges promote the sharing of cultures.
"There are so many preconceived notions about cultures portrayed in media that it skews our perceptions," Koehler said. "Exchange programs can correct those stereotypes and encourage us to become global thinkers and realize how we are really all connected."
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What countries do the exchange students represent?
Appleton: 13 exchange students, representing Bangladesh, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Romania and Turkey.
Neenah: Six students, representing France, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.
Counselor Felicia Torres coordinates Neenah High School's exchange program.
"At NHS, our exchange students do presentations about their home countries in geography class, as well as after school during our AFS Club meetings, so that NHS students can learn about other countries firsthand from their same-aged peers," Torres said.
Kaukauna: Four students, representing Belgium, Spain and Sweden.
Kimberly: Two students, representing Egypt and Italy.
Little Chute: Two students, representing Denmark and Spain.
Menasha: Two students, representing France and Turkey.
Post-Crescent reporter Duke Behnke answers your questions about local government. Send questions to dbehnke@gannett.com or call him at 920-993-7176.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: How many foreign exchange students are studying in the Fox Cities?
