Nativity BVM High School is looking for two families to host foreign exchange students who will be attending the school this year, Jill Warren, regional manager for Educatius International, California, said Monday.
"The two students we need to place are from Taiwan and Vietnam. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to be able to interact personally with a young person from another culture and share the amazing community of Pottsville with the student," Warren said.
Nativity is a Catholic high school in Pottsville which educates students in grades 9 through 12. It will have an anticipated enrollment of 120 students this school year.
Hosting international exchange students has been a tradition at Nativity BVM for more than 20 years, Jennifer Daubert, the school's director of development, said Monday.
"There's always a push every year to try to get host families for exchange students because we always have a group of them coming in. Last year, we had eight exchange students. The year prior, we had 12," Daubert said.
This year, Nativity will have 11 exchange students, she said.
One student from Germany made arrangements on their own to find a host family in the Pottsville area, Daubert said.
Meanwhile, others were represented by organizations. International Student Exchange, represented by Christel Forney, Saint Clair, arranged to have a student from South Korea at Nativity this year.
Eduardo Achach, Schuylkill Haven, runs a program to bring children from Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, to the United States.
"This year, we'll have six students from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico," Daubert said.
This is the first year Educatius International has placed students at Nativity, Warren said.
"Educatius is placing three exchange students at Nativity this year, but they would be able to place up to 10 if we had enough host families. We've found placement for one of the three, who is from Brazil," Daubert said.
But two students represented by Educatius need host families. They are:
- "Hao-Wen is from Taiwan. He will be a senior at Nativity BVM. His favorite subject is math and would like to attend an American university someday. He likes to play basketball, football and golf, is outgoing and makes friends easily," Warren said.
- "Lam is from Vietnam. He will be a sophomore at Nativity BVM. His favorite subjects are math and geography. He likes to play basketball and tennis. He also enjoys listening to music and going to the movies," Warren said.
Daubert and Warren outlined what the responsibilities of a host family would be.
Warren said Educatius could only release the first names of those students because of its policy regarding privacy of its clients.
"Our host families come in all shapes and sizes including single parents, empty nesters, busy families and so forth. All we ask is a loving heart and a willingness to share your home with one of these students," Warren said.
A host family is responsible for providing a room with a quiet place to study and a caring environment, Warren said.
"Financially, host families are also responsible for meals within the home, but not outside the home. The host family receives a stipend of $300 per month to offset any expenses. This student will have their own health insurance and will be responsible for any expenses outside of the home. This includes things like clothes, entertainment, movies, meals at a restaurant, presents, prom expenses and attire, yearbooks and so forth. Students are told that they are responsible for all costs incurred for lunches during school hours if not brought from home," Warren said.
Interested persons can contact Educatius at 661-586-4644 or visit its website at educatius.org for more information. They can also contact Nativity at 570-622-8110.