Foreign Exchange Program Safe, Lamorinda Parents Breathe Easier

Acalanes Union High School District parents and students can rest easy knowing that their foreign exchange student program is safe.

Lamorinda Patch published an opinion piece on July 1 by Moraga resident Tom Chesterman, who expressed his concern about the district's temporary suspension of its foreign exchange student program. Other parents in the district, like Lafayette resident Candace Morton, soon joined the conversation to commiserate about the denial of their applications to serve as host families.

The district eventually clarified its stance on fall semester foreign exchange students, stating that their placement would be taken on a case-by-case basis, and only as space warranted. A new piece of legislation coming down from Sacramento, called the Open Enrollment Law, could potentially crowd the district and make exchange program enrollment tricky.

The exchange program, facilitated by non-profit organizations like Youth For Understanding and Rotary Youth Exchange, was initially put on hold due to financial concerns about the district's struggling budget.

Following the passage of parcel tax Measure A in May, families assumed that the exchange program would resume as planned.

Morton and Chesterman contend that this did not initially occur. Exchange program participants were given a new reason for the program's delay, and many were left unsatisfied. The district cited a crime involving an exchange student from a separate organization, whose action warranted the student's repatriation (return) to his home country.

The incident resulted in a statewide stand-down of all youth exchange programs, to allow schools time to review organizational qualifications. Rotary was re-approved first in Acalanes due to its high level of diligence in monitoring host families and exchange students. YFU soon followed, and the program is now slated for re-implementation in the fall.

Superintendent John Stockton explained that the district must also meet requirements to prepare for the possibility of exchange student transgressions. This precaution was the reason for the district's delay in accepting host family applications.

"The two primary requirements of the district are documentation demonstrating a weekly monitoring of an exchange student, and the possession of an open-date return plane ticket in case there are problems with a placement," Stockton said.

Chesterman met with Stockton after his opinion piece was published on Lamorinda Patch. The meeting satisfied Chesterman's concerns, and he described their interaction as "excellent."

"The superintendent clarified his position and policy, and I support this policy and YFU's continued partnership with our district," said Mr. Chesterman. "I appreciated his rational approach to the situation."