Top Ten Reasons to Host an ATAD International Student:

10. It is a fun way to learn more about the world without leaving home. Children who have international siblings develop a better knowledge of the globe and understanding about the world.

9. ATAD students are carefully matched with host families, and excellent support is provided for the International student, family and school by experienced Program Liaisons, all of whom are volunteers.

8. ATAD is an academic, home stay program (not a travel program.) The applicants are carefully screened before coming here. The result is our International students are highly motivated teens who are expected to do well in school, and are eager to learn about family life in the US.

7. Having an International student in your home promotes understanding of other cultures through personal relation-ships. Stereotypes about different cultures are perpetuated by the news media, misconceptions through conversations between people without fist-hand knowledge and by relations between governments. By having someone from another culture in your home, you actually learn the whys and wherefore's of the culture through conversations with your child. One's mantra becomes: "It's not wrong, it's not stupid, it's just different."

6. If your child is anticipating going overseas on an International Program, having someone live in your home gives your child first-hand experience with what it is like to adjust to another culture.

5. A host family often learns so much about our community because they go to museums, galleries and special events that they might not attend otherwise.

4. You provide schools and the community many opportunities for learning about other parts of the world and providing intercultural understanding.

3. A family learns new things about themselves through the eyes of an International student.

2. You get to meet and develop friendships with other families who are hosting international students in the community.

1. You are extending hospitality to a young person from another country who will learn about about another culture and way of life. You are preparing young people for their opportunities and responsibilities in a changing, interdependent world."

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