Back-to-school season is almost here and with it comes the anticipation of welcoming new foreign exchange students to the community of Brown County.

Brown County Schools Superintendent Emily Tracy said that the high school does not currently have registered foreign exchange students for the new school year, but that some choose to wait until closer to the beginning of the school year to enroll.

“As long as I’ve been at Brown County, we’ve had two (foreign exchange students) per year,” Tracy said. “I don’t know if that’s the limit or if that’s just how many we have, but in my six years here it’s only ever been two a year.”

Foreign exchange students travel from across the world to live and study in a foreign country. The high school students vary between ages 15 and 18 and hail from nearly every continent except Antarctica.

“We accept students through international exchange programs,” Tracy said. “For example, the student on my caseload last year was placed with us through PAX (Program of Academic Exchange). They do the vetting, send us the student’s information and then we accept them or don’t.”

PAX provides global education and exchange opportunities for schools, students, communities and host families to embrace cultures, open doors and become family, according to the PAX website. To be considered through the program, students must submit a written application, pass a standardized English test, participate in a personal interview and demonstrate maturity and motivation.

The students also must provide their current health and academic records and receive necessary immunization. Once in the program and chosen by a host family, they generally stay with the family for a full semester or year.

Host families are also responsible for providing food, shelter and transportation without reimbursement. Students typically have their own spending money for things like clothing, toiletries and school activity fees. They are also required to carry their own health insurance.

Local families interested in opening their homes to foreign exchange students can find additional information and get in touch with a PAX team member at pax.org/families.