Local Families Needed for French Exchange Program

A high school foreign exchange program is looking for locals to open their homes to French students for 10 days this spring.

Eductour, a French foreign exchange program for high school students, is looking for local families to host students from April 17-27. The program brings French students to the area, including Chatham, each spring.

It's an opportunity for local families to learn more about French culture while showing a French teenager what it is like to be American. Families are required to supply breakfast and dinner, rides to local pick-up and drop-off points and a place to sleep. They also should have a desire to learn more about a foreign culture.

Chatham High School senior Brendon Kaufman's family is one of two that have agreed to host students from France this April. An admitted francophile, Kaufman said he spent some time in France last summer and looks forward to the chance to  "I hope I learn a bit of culture and some more French from [the student]," Kaufman said, "I hope that some of my other classmates get an opportunity to participate in it."

The students are all proficient in English, have their itineraries planned for six of the 10 days and are chaperoned on all their tours. During the time the students are not on group tours, they are free to spend time with the host families and how they normally spend their time—going to or participating in sporting events, seeing some of the local attractions or participating in religious activities.

The local coordinator will work with families to make sure there is an appropriate match. Families will receive a profile and photos of the exchange student, and the families and students will be connected before arrival in April.

If you are interested in hosting a French student in April, call Laurie Inglese at 973-868-9022 for more information