Semester or Academic Year
PAXShare your world
It will change your life forever!
Around the World!
Great news! Many student applications are available for 2022-2023!
The fun really is in choosing your own student, and you just have to be “fully vetted” in order to start seeing everyone in the database. Check out the list below for possible countries:
Armenia, Belgium, Brazil…
Egypt, France, Gaza, Georgia, Germany…
India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan…
Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait…
Lebanon, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco…
North Macedonia, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland…
Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Spain…
Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia…
Turkey, Ukraine, West Bank…
Academic Year Details
Students come into the USA right before school starts, and they leave at the end of their year (or semester). Right from the start, they get involved with friends from their classes. They love the American opportunities– from sports to drama to music to community events.
Many families say it was just “one more kid in the car and in the whole routine”. For hosts who don’t have children in the high school, they like that their student has a life going on all day. They get together at night and enjoy that special energy a teenager brings into their world.
Hosts provide housing, which can be a shared bedroom (as long as the student is within four years of the student’s age). Hosts also provide three meals a day, and transportation for normal high school sports & clubs. The student brings their own spending money and health insurance.
Note that the US government requires that your family feel financially able to support the student. (There is no stipend for hosting; this is a volunteer program.) You cannot receive any federal aid (like reduced lunch at the school). Host families also need to pass a criminal background check.
Annually, this program places about 700-1,000 students–from around the globe–all throughout the United States.
Start the application process by following the link below. It involves an application form, reference checks, personal visit and criminal background check.
Local High Schools
Brattleboro Union High School is accepting students again in 2022-2023.
Twin Valley High School is eager to take exchange students.
Keene High School is also accepting students–with early deadlines–act quickly!
We have also worked with other area schools, and are very happy to work with any high school within one hour’s drive from Brattleboro, Vermont.
Some students have specifically asked for this area, and we’ve put their “dear host family” letters on the website.
We have also chosen a few students who just seem good fits for our area, due to their specific interests. If you wish to see all available students, use the link out to the PAX website directly.
The Crazy Departures from COVID
Wondering on the (crazy) departures for the fourteen Brattleboro Union High School students from 2019-2020? Check out the blog post! Wondering what happened to each of them, as the world faced an unprecedented international pandemic? Bela, BRAZIL, was only...
Students Available for January Entry!
Did you know the US government hopes to promote global understanding by sponsoring high school students to come into the USA every year? For several decades, young people from specific countries have gotten to know Americans on a personal level, all through the Future...
At the Carwash (Silver Linings 6-6-2020)
We don’t get out much anymore. That was so plainly evident today that it turned out to be both laughable—and my silver lining. I sometimes feel quite badly for Spanish daughter number three. This year has turned out to be very different than the...
The Foreign Exchange Student
Somewhere in the crazy ideas that pop through my head, I thought it would be great fun to take on a new work responsibility... during the spring that my oldest graduated from high school, and my youngest graduated from elementary school. It was because the job itself...
The Arrival of the Exchange Students
We drive the three hours home from dropping off our first born at college for the first time. But we arrive home to a fuller house than we’ve left. For the beginning of the year at least, we’ve agreed to host two academic year exchange students. One is a boy, from...
The Brazilian Weatherman
He is outside in shorts and flip flops, his normal house attire. But he’s added on a scarf and a fleece jacket, even a hat, before he’s charged outside. “Look!” he cries triumphantly. “Look at this! It’s SNOWING!!” His enthusiasm is so complete and his joy so evident...