SYV Star Staff Report
In February 2018, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School will have 28 new students when the Neils Brock Homestay program returns to the valley for a sixth year.
District Superintendent Scott Cory has signed an agreement with Niels Brock College, Denmark’s largest business school, which allows 28 of its best students to experience a semester in Solvang at SYVUHS.
The homestay program also allows local families to experience a first-hand introduction to Danish culture by sharing their home and community with a Danish student.
The group of students, who are between 15 and 17 years old, arrives at the beginning of February and departs at the end of May. Once here, students attend the high school but are taught their own curriculum to align with their degree requirements back home.
North American colleges and universities are considered to be among the best in the world, and it is a priority for many Danish parents that their children get to experience the American culture and educational system first-hand. By becoming a homestay host, families will give a Danish student a chance of a lifetime.
Nine returning host families are already lined up for the spring semester, some of them to house more than one Neils Brock student.
“So many families really enjoy the program and love doing it,” said Jutta Aichinger, the Niels Brock Solvang Coordinator.
Host families receive a $600 monthly stipend for hosting a student and in return are asked to welcome the student into their family and community. Host families typically range from those with current students enrolled at the high school to others who have not had a teen in their house for many years but are willing to share their everyday living with students.
“It is a great experience for the host family and the Danish student,” added Aichinger.
For more information or to participate in the program, contact Aichinger at jutta.aichinger@gmail.com or 637-8956.
For more information about Niels Brock and the Solvang project, visit www.brock.dk/solvang.
