Attending a reputable private school in America will yield a quality education, develop your English-speaking skills, and improve your chances of enrolling in one of the U.S.A.’s many outstanding colleges and universities. At Marianapolis Preparatory School in Connecticut, the administrators take their program one step further by incorporating travel into their curriculum.

“We realized that there is more to learning about America than can be taught in the classroom,” explains ESL Program Director Megan Ahonen. “Students need to experience America first hand, and in order to do that, they need to visit historic locations that they otherwise would only read about in a book.”

The ESL program at Marianapolis features a series of trips for students to learn about American culture, society and history. Included in their ESL fee are monthly day trips to historic sites, as well as one week-long trip each spring. On day trips students have gone alpine sledding, skiing and snowboarding in the mountains of Vermont, seen a Broadway play or show (“Blue Man Group” for example) in New York City, walked the “Freedom Trail” in historic Boston and visited the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Explains Ahonen, “Since we are located in historic New England, the birthplace of America, we are close to many major attractions.”

One year the group visited Historic Plimoth Plantation where European immigrants established the first permanent settlement in North America.

For their weeklong trip each spring, ESL program participants visit a major city or historical area. In recent years students have visited the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York City, and Orlando, Florida (the home of Disney World and SeaWorld). “These trips make the students’ classroom studies in history, culture and government come alive,” comments Ahonen.

The trips are integrated into the curriculum in the classroom as well. Before a visit to a location, the students study its historic significance in class.

“When students have been to the nation’s Capital, seen the Liberty Bell, or visited where the first American flag was created, they deepen their understanding of what America is about,” adds Ahonen.

Experiencing American Families

Marianapolis also offers a Family Network Program so that international students can visit their American homes, for a meal, day excursion or holiday weekend.

The program gives international students the chance to see what it is like to spent time with an American family. The program is voluntary, and each student who signs up gets to know the family of a Marianapolis day student or faculty member. The group has organized gatherings such as dinners, ice cream socials, ice skating trips and bowling outings. Host families often drop off care packages and birthday cakes, or other gestures that help with homesickness. As a result, many long-term friendships have been formed, and some American students now visit their new friends in their home countries.

“The program creates an opportunity for international students and American families to share and appreciate each others’ cultures and traditions in an informal setting,” comments program organizer Tara Kelly.

By Diana Creed

Diana Creed is the Director of Communications at Marianapolis Preparatory School