Prairie Ridge Students Spark New Connections as Hosts to Students from German Exchange Program
Prairie Ridge High School welcomed 13 exchange students from Karlsruhe, Germany from October 9 to October 23 as a part of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP). GAPP is designed to bring American and German students together to experience the culture of each country and expand knowledge of what life looks like for students living in different areas of the world.
"Our students were able to spend meaningful time with the exchange students inside and outside of class and came away with a stronger appreciation for one another’s culture,” said Patrick Seaman, German teacher at Prairie Ridge.
Each visitor was paired with a host family and student who currently goes to Prairie Ridge. The group got to know each other with a welcoming gathering over pizza at Lou Malanti’s. Dr. Steve Koch, principal of Prairie Ridge High School, attended the welcoming to introduce himself to students and answer any questions students had about attending Prairie Ridge over the next couple of weeks.
At Prairie Ridge, the German students followed the class schedule of their individual host, learning about how an American school functions and what each class teaches throughout the day. Each exchange student was well acclimated to a high school setting, attending Goethe Gymnasium Karlsruhe, a college prep school in Germany. Each student was also well-versed in English, studying and speaking the language since fifth grade.
To experience the Crystal Lake and Northern Illinois area, multiple field trips were set up for the group to visit new areas and identify differences between cities and towns compared to how they are built in Germany. In Crystal Lake, students visited public agencies like City Hall and the Police Department, and participated in a scavenger hunt in the downtown area to learn more about the businesses offered.
The exchange students also took trips to Chicago, where they spent time visiting tourist attractions like The Bean, a riverboat architecture tour, and visiting the Art Institute. Many of the exchange students shared an interest in art, and the visit gave time for them to study and experience the iconic pieces of art that the institute holds in person.
“The exchange students spent two weeks at Prairie Ridge experiencing firsthand how an American school runs and what is familiar or different compared to their own experience in Karlsruhe,” said Seaman. “We were also able to share more about our area through two visits to Chicago and walking the streets of downtown Crystal Lake to explore the differences between American and German cities and towns."
As a final requirement of the GAPP program, exchange students paired up to hold 20-minute presentations in class on a topic of interest related to their visit and home country. Topics chosen included the history of Karlsruhe, the structure of German schools, recycling and power generation, political structure of Germany and America, and German history after World War Two.
Students and staff listening to the presentations were able to ask questions of the students to get their unique perspective on their chosen topic and how it relates to daily life in Karlsruhe compared to Crystal Lake.
Prairie Ridge students will continue working with the GAPP program by visiting Karlsruhe in 2027 during the first two weeks of June.