Vermont high school celebrates 50 years of German partnership

South Burlington High School is marking a milestone in what they call grassroots diplomacy. Their partnership with a school in Hameln, Germany, is celebrating over 50 years of connection. “To see how that relationship has kept going, really just grassroots,” said French and German teacher, Polly Vanderputten. “Come to us, and we will host you in our homes and bring you to our school, and show you our wonderful state. And then, conversely, you will do that for us. It’s very simple, and yet it feels really enormous how impactful it’s been.” Students from Germany travel to Vermont, where they spend about two weeks with students and their families.Jeffrey Hagstrom, a teacher at South Burlington who has chaperoned two trips, said students are usually nervous when the Germans come to visit.But when they head to Germany, it’s like a family reunion.”The day we get there is really fun because it’s hugging the boys. Oh, I missed you. And oh, I can’t wait to show you this,” he said. “It’s really nice how quickly the kids bond with each other and make these really long-lasting friendships.” Both groups are immersed in the local culture. “It was just a lot of fun showing them around Vermont. And, you know, it’s just the little things that they would call out and say, ‘Hey, we don’t really have that in Europe. And it was just little things like that that made the experience really cool,” said Henry Lawrence, who went to Germany last year. Students can take the language skills they’ve learned in the classroom and apply them while in Germany, often conversing with their host families entirely in the language.Despite the barrier, students are still able to find common interests. “One thing I’ve enjoyed with communicating with both my host and other host students is that music is one thing that unites us a lot,” Grady Bergeron said. He traveled last year. “When I was there, and still to this day, we will send each other different songs and different even types and genres of music, and overall still unite us.” Students have a family weekend during each exchange for the host family to show their student their country. Those experiences have lasting impacts; students are able to learn life skills while with their host families. “It’s a real-world experience. You’re living with another host family who’s agreed to take you in, so understanding how to be a good house guest,” said William Lawrence, who went to Germany in 2023.The students hope to stay connected with their German counterparts. Some have even gone back or invited them back to Vermont. “That’s an awesome opportunity for continued friendship,” said Nick Herrera. “As I plan in the future to visit Europe and Germany, I know that there’s always somewhere or someone who has a place for me to stay. That’s a really heartwarming thing.”Henry and William’s mom, Jennifer Lawrence, called the program a gift, saying it’s an incredible opportunity not only for the students, but for Vermont too. William took a gap year to live in Germany after high school and the families he stayed with have come to visit.”Another family that he had lived with in Kiel came to visit with their children and stayed with us for about a week,” Jennifer said. “Part of the reason they stayed so long is that they all had said, we’ve been all over America now, like they’ve traveled around to see different parts. And they said, Vermont is like the best kept secret.” Principal Patrick Burke is hopeful the partnership will continue. “A lot of high school international programs are very tourist centric, whereas in the T program, because of our partnership with Schiller, we’re able to live in homes and students experience literally what it’s like to be a student at a German high school for an extended period of time, which is a lot different than staying in hotels and going to museums, which is also valuable. But that unique and really incredibly valuable element of this partnership is that embedded in the community element.”

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