Travel
HOW TO SIGN UP
Any current senior at an AEP partner high school on track to graduate is eligible to participate in an AEP Exchange. Our signup form will gather some basic information on our students’ interests, hometowns, plans for the future, and availability in the summer. Our placement team will reference this information when pairing students with their exchange town and their exchange group. For students, please also be sure to consult with your school’s Exchange Manager before signing up. Meet all our Exchange Managers at the bottom of our “About Us” page.
PICKING YOUR DESTINATION
In all of AEP’s partner schools, March 1 is AEP Day. That morning, all of our students will go to their Exchange Manager’s classroom where they will find an AEP bag with their name on it. In the bag will be a letter revealing to our students which town in a far away part of America they will be traveling to that summer. The dates of their travel and hosting experiences will also be revealed in the letter. This is the day when the experience becomes real, and our students embrace the adventure.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Each itinerary is unique to the AEP hometown. That said, all events and activities on every AEP itinerary will fit into one of the following categories: cultural immersion, community events, professional development, and volunteer/service to gain exposure to local issues. The aim of an AEP trip is to help students experience life in a community different from their own, and the focus of an AEP trip is good old fashioned fun. You can see what an AEP trip looks like here.
BEFORE YOU GO
In the months leading up to the exchange, all AEPers will Zoom with their travel Exchange Managers, their host families, and the students they will be traveling with. These Zooms are essential in setting up a smooth travel day and a great AEP week. We also encourage our students to review the packing checklist and the itineraries for both their exchange and hometowns.
OFF YOU GO
AEP students will be traveling to their exchange towns across the country. AEPers receive their travel itineraries from the Exchange Managers. They will fly into their exchange towns, and participate in a week’s worth of incredible local activities and events with fellow travelers from other AEP hometowns across America. They will stay with a host family and spend time with local students and adults. After the week flies by, students return home and, if they haven’t already, help host the exchange in their own hometown.
Host
COMMUNITY LEADERS
Each of AEP’s communities is anchored by a volunteer Community Leader. This position is usually filled by an adult who is enthusiastic about AEP’s mission and has the time and connections to help the program grow in their hometown. Learn more about becoming a Community Leader and bringing AEP to your town here.
HOST FAMILIES
The host family is the core unit of the AEP experience and often where we see the most impact on our students. Through our host family model, students will get to experience day-to-day life in the community they are visiting, and families get to know someone from a completely different part of the country. Host family stipends help offset the costs of meals and transportation.
To learn more, click here to read FAQs for host families.
HOST STUDENTS
While it is NOT mandatory for our students to host a student in their home to participate in the program, we do require that all traveling students attend at least half of the week’s events and activities during their hometown exchange, regardless of whether or not they are hosting a student in their own home. Dozens of AEP staff, students, and volunteers work hard to provide each student with a wonderful experience when they travel, and so it’s essential each of our students returns the favor when travelers arrive in their own hometowns. Sign up as a host family here.
EXCHANGE MANAGERS
AEP exchanges are organized and run by a beloved local educator who serves as their community’s Exchange Manager (EM). This is a paid position, and EMs are part of the AEP team. They are expected to recruit local students and host families, plan itineraries, manage budgets, and run the trip when traveling students arrive in the summer. Perhaps more than any other individual, our EMs determine the success of their local trip. Learn more about becoming an AEP Exchange Manager here.
