The German American Partnership Program began in 1972 and was reorganized in 1977. The goal of the program is to promote the exchange of students, teachers, and school administrators in Germany and the United States and Canada.
GAPP began at Antietam High School with a visit from Kleines Privates Lehrinstitut Derksen in 1988. The schools have continued to be partners through present day visiting one another biannually. A group of 10 to 15 students usually participates. Students stay with host families in the Munich area and attend classes at their partner school.
While in Munich, students meet with the US instructor each morning for a minimum of one hour in a setting apart from the German students. During this time students may ask questions related to vocabulary, culture, and any other pertinent concerns related to their host family situations. The instructor also has a developed curriculum, which is covered during the homeroom period. This is focused upon cultural difference and encourages students to build stronger bonds by complete assignments with the help of their hosting parents. They also take several day excursions to sights of historic and cultural significance. Frequently, we are accompanied by teachers from our partner school. This is not always the case. When excursions are scheduled where no teacher from our partner school is accompanying the group, the presentational element of the program is the responsibility of the US instructor. The US instructor also instructs classes at our partner school when asked to do so. Most frequently this experience is sharing information about the US view on world issues or language concerns by the teachers of English as a second language.
The exchange is three weeks in Munich and one week touring in one selected area of Germany. The extra week’s excursion is planned totally by the US instructor. These responsibilities include finding affordable lodging and transportation within the region, reserving tours in the area, making contact with local people in order that the Antietam students may have contact with Germans from that region, being certain that arrangements are made for meals, and having an active knowledge of area orientation.
Students and the instructor are responsible for all expenses incurred during the program. There are opportunities for fund raising, arranged by the instructor. All bookkeeping for these fund raising events is the responsibility of the instructor and occurs each year. Fund raising occurs if there is an exchange program scheduled for that year or not. Additionally, the US instructor actively seeks alternative funding grants to help students subsidize their travel costs.
When the Germans visit Antietam High School, they live with host families, attend classes in the middle and high schools, and take day trips to historic sights in the area. The US instructor is responsible for planning all of these activities. The host families and the US instructor finance all trips for the exchange students/exchange teacher with the exception of a day trip to Washington, DC, which is funded by our partner school for the German students. This funding does not extend to the German teacher accompanying the students. This funding includes only the German student’s portion of a chartered bus fare when an entire chartered bus in filled. Hosting US students and their families help to fill the bus to make this tour possible. The US instructor acts as the tour guide for the day.
Students who participate in the program must complete course requirements and submit a portfolio for course credit. These requirements include a research project to be presented in German at our partner school about an area of local interest in the Berks County area. The students also prepare reports about sights of interest in Munich and the other area visited. They are required to select a personality from the region. These reports are shared with their classmates when appropriate during the visit in Germany. Students must keep and submit journals of their experiences. They must complete a series of worksheets in German with the help of their host families. These worksheets compare and contrast cultural elements unique to German. The students must also create a photo presentation of their US family, school and community to share with their hosting parents as well as a photo presentation of their German hosting family, school and community to share with their US parents and the Antietam community. The US instructor must assess these activities, as well as others.
Germans visit Antietam for three weeks close to the spring holiday break. US students travel to Germany immediately after the end of the school year and return to the US in early/ mid July. Assessments are expected to be submitted to the US instructor no later than the beginning of August and are returned to the students in mid August.
When the program began at Mt. Penn High School in 1988, the cost for this four-week experience to each student and the instructor was $550. This year the travel cost to each Antietam student was $1650. The cost this year was lowered for each student thanks to a generous grant from the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation in Berlin and a grant from the German American Partnership Program. The actual cost of travel per student for this four-week experience was approximately $1250. Costs associated with hosting the German guests during their stay at Antietam are also not inconsequential. |
