Wellesley High School has two active exchange programs, a German GAPP (German-American Partnership Program) Exchange with a school in Radolfzell, Germany and a French exchange with a school in Lyon, France. Both of these exchanges run every other year.
Teachers announce the exchanges to students, typically January of the year prior to the exchange. Only students enrolled in the language are eligible.
Selection Criteria:
- Participants are chosen on the basis of their maturity, academic effort, dependability, adaptability, willingness to participate in all aspects of the program, and especially their attendance record.
- Students with incomplete grades in any subject are not eligible.
- Students currently enrolled in a French or German class are eligible. Typically we do not take students in Year 1 courses because their proficiency would not be sufficient for a language immersion experience.
- Students are given priority by year of graduation. For example, juniors and seniors are given priority, because freshmen and sophomores will have another opportunity to participate.
- Students with disciplinary records wishing to attend must apply directly to the Dept. Head for consideration. All decisions are final and will not be subject to appeal.
- Students applying for programs that entail extended absence from classes must demonstrate the ability and willingness to complete all course work missed during the trip in a timely manner upon their return.
Teachers of prospective participants will be asked to evaluate students on the above criteria. Any student who does not receive a positive recommendation from a teacher will not be allowed to participate in the exchange. We ask parents and students to sign FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) waivers on all recommendation forms.
- Participants and guardians must be able to attend regular orientation and information meetings prior to departure, as scheduled by the exchange coordinators.