Alumni Spotlight: Natalie Rhodes
In this article, Natalie Rhodes, an AFS-USA Alumna who went to Chile for one semester during her junior year of high school, responds to a series of questions about her…
Author: jball
Oliva N. reflects upon her AFS experience in Japan during COVID
It was Olivia’s dream since seventh grade to study in Japan. Looking back in her journal, she realized how much of the past five years were spent studying the language…
Global Educator Newsletter: November 2022
Resources for Veteran’s Day – November 11, 2022 Many schools show their respect for the veterans in their community by holding a recognition ceremony or event honoring the service of…
Global Educator Newsletter: September 2022
Connect with a Classroom Abroad Connect your students to Latin America during Hispanic Heritage Month by participating in a Meet & Greet with teachers of all content areas from Central…
2022 AFS-USA Global Award Winners
AFS-USA has created two distinct awards to celebrate both individual educators and schools or districts that have made global engagement and intercultural learning a part of their everyday instruction and…
Congratulations Youth Assembly Scholarship Winners!
AFS-USA is proud to announce the five young educators who will be Daring to Reshape the World at the 27th Youth Assembly in New York City with a $2,000 scholarship. These young educators were…
Global Educator Newsletter: April 2022
Recently, I had the opportunity and honor to recognize extraordinary educators committed to expanding global competence in their schools. Their achievements are many and, like you, they’ve dedicated themselves to…
Global Educator Newsletter: January 2022
Over the last two years, “connecting” to our friends, colleagues, and students has looked a little different. Zoom, Teams, and Google Hangouts have helped us maintain our relationships locally and…
Global Educator Newsletter: November 2021
November is a time when those of us in the United States take pause to remind ourselves of and express gratitude for the positive aspects of our lives. It’s also…
Global Educator Newsletter: September 2021
In many parts of the world, students and educators are marking the annual return to school. As educators, I suspect that prepping for and implementing the start of the school…
AFS-USA Elects New Board Members: Focus on Strategic Imperatives
AFS-USA, the largest partner in a worldwide network of non-profit, volunteer-based international education organizations, announces five new board members elected at its annual Board meeting on June 26th. According to…
AFS-USA Elects New Board Members
On behalf of the AFS-USA leadership, I am pleased to share the news that five new board members were elected at the annual AFS-USA Board meeting on June 24th, along…
AFS-USA Meet the Students
This site is only available to residents of the United States. To find out more about AFS hosting opportunities in your country, click here.
AFS-USA Elects New Board Members: Focus on Increasing Support to Schools and Students
AFS-USA, the largest partner in a worldwide network of non-profit, volunteer-based international education organizations, announces five new board members elected at its June 24th annual Board meeting. Tara Hofmann, President…
Alumni Newsletter: Summer 2022
A Message from Tara Hofmann It’s remarkable that in September AFS will start its celebration of the 75th anniversary of AFS youth exchange programs. Over the course of the coming…
Alumni Newsletter: Spring 2022
A Message from Tara Hofmann Today as I write this, our work has taken on even greater urgency as we witness and carefully monitor the tragic invasion in Ukraine. It…
Alumni Newsletter: Fall 2021
We’re Moving Forward Thanks to You Over the past year, I have heard from many AFS-USA alumni about what AFS-USA means to them and how thankful they were that they…
Alumni Newsletter: Summer 2021
Dear AFS-USA Alumni, Families, and Friends, I hope this newsletter finds you and your family doing well! Whether you studied abroad, hosted a student, sent your child abroad, volunteer or…
An AFS Adventure to Austria in 1968!
This article is written by AFS-USA Alumnus Dave Schrader. Dave is currently an AFS Volunteer in the Greater Los Angeles and South Bay Chapter who is greatly involved with orientation…
Meet Mikea: AFS Host Student and Global Citizen
Mikea R. is an exchange student from Albania on the YES Scholarship Program (yesprograms.org), hosted by AFS-USA in Rockford, Illinois. Below, Mikea responds to a series of questions about why…
Hosting and Studying Abroad with AFS: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
When you think about going abroad or hosting an exchange student, the first words that likely come to mind are “adventure” or “language”. Both language and adventure (and more!) will…
Global Educator Newsletter: April 2021
In all of my recent travels (virtually) across the United States and around the world, I’ve been grateful (and encouraged) by today’s generation of students, especially their passion for change…
Global Sustainability / Sostenibilidad Global in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
How Science & Spanish teachers collaborate to change the world! In Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, AP Environmental Science teacher, Kelly Holtzman, and Spanish teacher, Danielle Chaussee have formed a unique collaboration. Using…
Why Host an Exchange Student During COVID
Just about a year ago the world changed in ways we never expected and with those changes came a new hosting experience. At a time like this many ask themselves…
AFS-USA Resources to Celebrate Black History Month Year-Round
This is a collection of materials and resources gathered by AFS-USA staff in celebration of Black History Month. While Black History Month is celebrated in February in the US, these…
My AFS Experience: Hosting, Studying Abroad, and Volunteering
My name is Tori and I’m a current AFS Volunteer, Returnee from Japan (2010), and past host sister. I’m here to share my experience with AFS for anyone who’s curious…
Cooper E. King Memorial AFS Scholarship
The Cooper E. King Memorial AFS Scholarship was established with the support of family and friends in 2006 to commemorate Cooper’s life by helping a high school student gain an…
AFS Maine Global Explorers: Adventurer Scholarship
Local scholarship for students from Maine.
Phyllis Runkel Scholarship
Local scholarship for students in Canandiagua, New York.
IN MEMORIAM: Richard M. Hunt, AFS Volunteer, Historian, and Philanthropist
AFS is saddened to announce the passing of AFS World War II volunteer and Life Trustee Richard (Rick) M. Hunt, who died on April 10, 2020. Hunt was a student…
Jill Woerner Appointed to ACTFL’s America’s Language Fellows Working Group
In September, AFS-USA's Director of Educational Outreach, Jill Woerner, was invited to serve as one of America’s Language Fellows because of her unique experiences both with ACTFL’s Professional Learning Committee and other initiatives.
Alumni Newsletter: Fall 2020
Dear AFS-USA Community, While we are all immersed in challenges these days, we’ve also come to value the stability of a singular mission and values that inspire all that we…
Women Volunteers and Suffragettes in WWI
The early twentieth century brought forth opportunities for women beyond the home front: work, education, social reform, and political engagement. While many conservative Americans fought against this change in gender roles and believed women needed to be home, World War I served as a catalyst for volunteerism and ultimately, women’s suffrage.
Life in the Dominican Republic
The Essentials All Programs AFS Participant Guide AFS Medical Guide Safety Tips Travel Guide Year/Semester High School AFS Dominican Republic Program Handbook Visa Guidelines Digging Deeper Language Resources Rosetta Stone:…
Developing Your Potential
Overview: Use this lesson to help your students explore the key attitudes and behaviors associated with success in your content area. This short reflective activity can be completed individually, in…
From Cartoons to Classics
Overview: Movies and television are rich sources of intercultural content when you know what to look for. This activity will help guide you to select a clip, show or film…
Critical Listening through Debate
Overview: Enjoy an intercultural twist on a unit idea that’s been used for years. Active listening skills, critical thinking and collaboration are all part of engaging in a debate in-person…
Listen and Draw
Overview: No artistic abilities are required for this quick activity regardless of whether it is a stand-alone activity or unit starter. Context and communication styles will definitely be part of…
Paper Tear
Overview: Take 3-minutes and generate a fabulous discussion about the power of perspective, active listening, and interpersonal communication. This can easily be done virtually and connects to any content area.…
The What, Why, and When
Overview: Building off the lesson “The What and Why”, students will engage in brief writing activity to determine if their values are aligned with their actions and future goals. Identifying…
The What and the Why
Overview: Do your own personal values and the values of others impact your daily actions and priorities? This activity helps your class explore the concept of values and can provoke…
Mapping My Community
Overview: What makes a community? Is it the people, the landmarks, the events or something else? This activity is a great lead-in for most content areas and provokes a great…
The D.I.V.E. Method
Overview: This lesson provides students with a model for processing new and different experiences in their daily lives. Students will learn to differentiate between observations and judgments, as they practice slowing…
Who Are The NACIREMA?
Overview: Using a model by Horace Mann, this lesson will challenge students to consider the strong ties between language and culture and how much of their culture is embedded in…
Rituals and Traditions
Overview: School routines, rituals and traditions have a large role in the formation of community and students’ comfort levels while learning. This lesson plan helps teachers provoke discussion and reflection…
Interview and Investigate
Overview: Verifying the source of information and understanding how different sources provide varying perspectives on the same topic can be eye-opening for students. This activity is a fun, highly engaging…
The True, The False & The Truly Amazing
Overview: When students form an emotional connection to something that they are learning, they are more likely to remember the content. Use this simple activity with a reading from any…
Your Identity Will Be Valued: My Time In Germany by Tony Valencia, AFS and CBYX Alum
“Only through dialogue and communication can differences be understood and appreciated.” – AFS and CBYX Alum, Tony Valencia ’18- ’19. In this blog post for Pride Month, Tony delves into…
AFS-USA Juneteenth Resources
Juneteenth, short for “June Nineteenth”, is the day that marks the end of slavery in the United States 157 years ago in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was…
AFS in Action: Anti-Racism Resources for the AFS Community
“At a time when the world is overcome by pandemics both viral and societal, AFS’s guiding principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility are more urgent than ever.” – Hannah Greene, AFS-USA Returnee…
Cultural Webinars for Educators
As part of showing our gratitude to educators and all of their hard work during Teacher Appreciation Week, AFS-USA coordinated with our partners in other countries to bring a series…
Jane Ransom
Jane Ransom Jane has been executive director of the American Brain Foundation since 2015. A veteran nonprofit executive, she has served as chief executive of seven leading non-profit organizations, specializing…
James A. Kiernan III
James A. Kiernan III U.S. to Germany, 1961 James Kiernan, is chairman of the Board of Directors at the Center for Public Integrity, is a former partner with and is…
H. Jed Hepworth
H. Jed Hepworth U.S. to Chile 1968 During six years as Director and especially as Chair of the AFS-USA Board of Directors during the chaotic first months of the COVID-19…
William G. Meserve
William G. Meserve U.S. to Greece 1957; Young Leaders to Soviet Union 1984 Bill Meserve is a former Director and Board Chair of AFS-USA and former Trustee and Board Chair…
John Bacon
John Bacon Returnee – U.S. to Belgium John spent his senior year of high school as an AFS student in Belgium, an experience that transformed him and continues to resonate…
Gail Meaker Scholarship
Gail Meaker need and merit-based scholarship for semester and year program students
Spotlight On: Terri Windsor, AFS-USA Volunteer and Host Parent
Terri Windsor is an AFS-USA Volunteer and host parent in the Youngstown, Ohio area. In this article, she shares how her AFS journey began, her work with the AFS Northeast…