Host Families Needed For Spanish Exchange Program

If you're looking to add some culture to your home this fall, keep reading.

Westwood school officials are looking for families in town to host a foreign exchange student from Spain for about 10 days at the start of the 2012-2013 school year as part of a program through 's foreign language department.  

"We did it last year," said Eileen Flanagan, a Spanish teacher at Westwood High School who is helping organize the program with Carousel Student Tours, Inc. "It went great, we had about 15 kids come here and about 15 kids travel there."

About 20 students from Vila Real, Spain will venture to Westwood at the beginning of the school year in September. Host families of students who are juniors or seniors at the high school are currently needed to welcome one to two of those students to stay with them for the 10-day trip.

The exchange program was revived last year after laying dormant for a number of years, Flanagan said. The last trip was more a two-way exchange, asstudents from Westwood traveled to Spain while the Spanish students traveled to Westwood. This year, however, Westwood students will not be traveling to Spain at the same time. 

"This year we're focusing on the hosting piece first," Flanagan said. "We're starting to get set up and host, and a lot of times students host someone and then they really want to go to Spain."

Teachers from Vila Real will travel to Westwood with the students and visit various classes at Westwood High School, while also touring other areas of the region, including Boston and New York. One element the Spanish students tend to enjoy most on their trip is the exposure to high school sports and athletic fields.

"They're coming from a little bit of a more urban setting, and in Spain there are no high school sports," Flanagan said. "Those are organized separately."

Westwood families interested in hosting a student should contact Eileen Flanagan at eflanagan@westwood.k12.ma.us, or Jennifer Washburn for Carousel Student Tours at 508-563-9332 or info@carousel-tours.com.

An information session is currently being organized for students at the high school and is expected to be held within the next three weeks. Shortly thereafter, a second information session for parents will be held.