High School Exchange Program is lunched by the US Department of State and guided by CSIET. Under this program, high school stududents study in a US high school and live with a volunteer American family for one semester or school year. The purpose of the program is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Most program students go to public schools and are not charged tuition, but a few students go to private schools, where they pay approximately $5000 to $8000 tuition.

High School Exchange Program participants must be bona fide students who:

• Are at least fifteen (15) years of age and not older than eighteen (18) years and six (6) months of age at the time of initial school enrollment; OR
• Are secondary school students in their home country and not have completed more than eleven (11) years of primary and secondary school combined. (The placement of graduated students will be conditional based on acceptance by high school and/or school district.)

We would like to announce the Student of the Year winners for 2008-2009: 

• Julie Koch, studying through My Education in Denmark, currently lives in Ohio.  She was nominated by her host family and her local representative, Pat Will. 
• Ole Schneiders, studying through Ehighschool in Germany, currently lives in Illinois.  He was nominated by his host family and his local representative, Janice Hovendon.

Both students are very involved in their host families, communities, and schools.  They are wonderful representatives of their home countries and organizations, as well as Forte International.