Officials announced last week that a new exchange program will be launched, allowing students from 30 American high schools and 30 Soviet schools to travel to each other’s countries. It is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at fostering cross-cultural understanding and promoting international education. The Soviet students are expected to arrive in the United States in January for a four-week visit, while the American students will travel to the Soviet Union in March. During their visits, both groups will have the opportunity to stay with host families, attend local schools, and explore historic and cultural landmarks.
This program, which was announced in September, is the result of an agreement between President Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev. It is being administered by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the American Council of Teachers of Russian, and Sister Cities International, with funding from the United States Information Agency. The organizers are planning to select an additional 25 schools from each country for the program in the 1989-1990 school year, and another 45 schools the following year.
The American schools chosen to participate in the exchange were carefully selected based on their academic achievements, their provision of at least two years of Russian-language instruction, their ability to secure local funding for the program’s costs, their commitment to international studies, and the resources they offer that would be of interest to their Soviet counterparts. The selected schools span across several states, including Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.