ARLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM
HOST PARENT HANDBOOK
2025-2026
International Exchange Program
Host Family Handbook
International Exchange Program
Host Family Handbook
Dear Host Families,
Welcome to Arlington High School! We thank you for providing a home for our international students who study at AHS for a semester or a year. We invite you to partner with us in supporting their education and academic success. We look forward to working with you in making the experience positive and problem free for our exchange students during their stay.
In addition to this handbook, you may view the Student Handbook on-line for a more detailed description of school rules, procedures, and policies. The Student Handbook may be found on the AHS website, along with a lot more information that may be useful for you
The International Exchange Program Arlington High School.
Please feel free to contact me or any other school administrators if you have any concerns, questions, or problems regarding your host son or daughter. I am usually the first point of contact, especially if you do not know who the best person is to address a specific need.
Thank You again and have a wonderful year/semester with your extended family.
Best Regards,
Judy Duffy
Foreign Exchange Coordinator
Arlington Public Schools
Contact Information
Judy Duffy jduffy@arlington.k12.m.us
Coordinator, Foreign Exchange Program 781-316-3632
Erika Tonachel
Field Trip Coordinator etonachel@arlington.k12.ma.us
Jeff Bruno
Community Service Coordinator jbruno@arlington.k12.ma.us
Matthew Janger mjanger@arlington.k12.ma.us
Principal 781-316-3591
William McCarthy wmccarthy@arlington.k12.m.us
Assistant Principal 781-316-3605
Veronica Tivnan vtivnan@arlington.k12.m.us
Dean 781-316-3611
Paul McKnight pmcknight@arlington.k12.ma.us
Dean 781-316-3388
Robert DiLoreto rdiloreto@arlington.k12.m.us
Dean 781-316-3616
Amanda Donohue adonohue@arlington.k12.ma.us
781 316-3000
Kellie Devine kadevine@arlington.k12.ma.us
School Nurse 781-316-3563
John Bowler jbowler@arlington.k12.ma.us
Athletic Director 781-316-3550
Absence Office Attendance Line:
email: ahsattendance@arlington.k12.ma.us
call: 781-316-3573
ATTENDANCE
We ask that Host Parents monitor school attendance for their host child, as they would with their own children. If a student will be absent, tardy or dismissed, please call the attendance line. 781-316-3573
You will receive a letter with information about accessing the Parent Portal for PowerSchool for your student. This will allow you to monitor daily attendance as well as class attendance at any time.
AHS ATTENDANCE POLICY
Students who have six or more unexcused absences in a quarter in a given subject will receive an FA (failure due to attendance) for that marking period even if the earned average is 60 or higher. A grade of 59 will be recorded when the student’s earned grade point average is over 60 and the comment “Failure due to attendance” will be noted on the report card.
An FA will count as a failing grade and be equivalent to 0 (zero) credits earned in determining academic eligibility for any extracurricular activities including MIAA athletic eligibility.
The Principal of House Deans may excuse absences for reasons of illness or serious family problems, if the student provides the proper written documentation. It is requested that the student (and parent/guardian) present the proper documentation for all absences within 3 days of the student’s return to school.
Students involved in athletic and extracurricular events must be present in school or online, and in all classes on the day of the event. Exceptions will be made for funerals, religious observances, and medical appointments. On days of absence, no event participation or practice is allowed. The rule applies as well to weekend or school vacation participation as affected by attendance in school during the last day prior to that weekend, holiday or vacation period. For purposes of this regulation, the daily attendance bulletin shall be binding.
Parent Information and Responsibilities
Parents will receive automated phone calls through ConnectEd each evening at 6:00 PM when students are absent from three or more classes during the day. We ask that a parent/guardian call the Absence Line when the student will be absent, as early in the morning as possible. When parents/guardians make the call, we enter a special code in Power School that prevents ConnectEd from making the automatic phone call home that evening.
If the parent cannot call the school, it is requested that the parent email the House Dean the day following the absence(s).
Host parents are encouraged to monitor student attendance by regularly entering the Parent Portal on PowerSchool. We also encourage parents to engage in discussions with their children about the importance of good attendance in all classes.
ATTENDANCE POLICY GUIDELINES AND PROTOCOLS
**The following absences are exempt and do not count towards the maximum allowed absences, however ALL missed work must be made up:
Religious holidays
Extended illness
Family funeral/emergencies
Tardiness
The school feels that students should be aware of the value of a good record of regularity in attendance and punctuality. Therefore, it places the responsibility for punctuality directly on students because we feel that they are mature enough to shoulder such responsibility. Excused tardiness to online classes will follow the same guidelines as the school attendance policy. Students should not arrive late to online classes.
Students are required to attend all classes and advisory groups.
GRADES, HOMEWORK, AND SCHOOL SUPPORT
All host parents will be given access to the Parent Portal for PowerSchool. You will receive ID and passwords in the mail along with an explanation of how it works. We encourage you to view your student’s grades on a regular basis. Please encourage them to put forth their best effort in all of their classes. If you notice they are not doing well, please talk to them and see what they need to improve. I will be doing the same thing from the school side.
Why do Foreign Exchange students struggle?
MOST of our exchange students do very well academically. They are usually highly motivated and work hard to achieve good grades. But in some instances, they may be placed in a class that is too challenging for them. Some classes involve a high level of new and specialized vocabulary making it more challenging for exchange students to keep up with the reading and writing. I will discuss these situations with each student and determine if they need to be placed in a different class or if they need additional support.
HOMEWORK is often an issue with exchange students. Some countries do not require students to do homework. It takes a while for our exchange students to understand that when they do not do homework, their grades suffer. Please emphasize to your student that homework is a requirement here and contributes to their term grades, either positively or negatively.
Support for our students
We offer many different options for our students who need and seek support in one or more classes. We encourage all students to take advantage of any or all of these options.
Teacher Help After School
All teachers provide help after school two days per week. (days vary by teacher) They encourage their students to take advantage of this help and usually tell students what days they are available. This is usually the first type of support we recommend our students to take advantage of. Teachers will provide online office hours so students can receive extra help.
One on One tutoring
The National Honor Society students provide tutoring in specific subjects to students who request their services. Any student interested in this service, should let Mrs Duffy know so she can assist in setting up the tutoring online.
Paid Tutoring
There are tutors available that will provide services for a fee. Interested students can inquire about these tutors through the Guidance Department.
PARENT CONFERENCES
We encourage host families to attend parent conference meetings. This is a great opportunity to meet teachers and get a better sense of what the exchange students are experiencing in their classes. You can also email teachers if you have specific questions or concerns about specific classes
Emergency Contact Information
We will send home an emergency contact form for you to complete and return to us. Please make sure the names, phone and email numbers are up to date so we can contact you in any emergency.
Athletics
Exchange students are encouraged to try out for sports at AHS. We have three seasons during the year where different sports programs are offered.
It is important for our exchange students to understand that athletic programs in our schools differ widely from programs in their home countries. Joining a sports team in the US is a serious commitment of time and effort. Practices take place five days a week after school during the season with games scheduled afternoons evenings, and weekends. Athletes are expected to participate in all team related events during the entire season.
Arlington High School Athletics
***Students should be aware that although they can try out for a team, not all students will make the team due to the competitive nature of the sport. Some teams are more competitive than others.
***Students must be academically eligible to play sports.
Refer to the Athletic Website for more information about eligibility, registration, contact information, etc…
Fall Sports
Boys: Cross Country, Golf, Soccer,
Girls: Cross Country, Field Hockey, Soccer
Winter Sports
Boys: Basketball, Ice Hockey, Indoor Track & Field , Wrestling, Skiing
Girls: Basketball, Ice Hockey, Indoor Track & Field , Gymnastics, Cheering (basketball), Skiing
Spring Sports
Boys: Baseball, Lacrosse, Tennis, Outdoor Track & Field, Volleyball
Girls: Softball, Lacrosse, Tennis, Outdoor Track & Field
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Please encourage your child to participate in extracurricular events at the high school. These activities provide students with opportunities to experience the culture of our school, community, and the American way of life for students. A list of clubs currently offered at AHS can be found on our website
MBTA Student Passes
Students will be given a student MBTA train and bus pass in homerooms for use during the school year. They can add cash value to the passes at Alewife train station (or any MBTA stations) at any time. Students are charged a discounted student rate for travel on the T during the school week.
When students leave AHS…
School Property
When students return home at the end of the year or semester, OR if students leave unexpectedly during the school year, it is important that all of their books, gym locks, uniforms, library books, and any other items belonging to the school are returned promptly. Please assist us in locating any of these items that may be in your homes. It is very costly to our school to replace these items. They can be returned to the school with the student or by dropping them off in the main office with students’ names on them.
TRANSCRIPTS AND SCHOOL RECORDS
Home countries for our exchange students require various records from our school that document their grades, course work and curriculum, and attendance records. The records must be notarized and convalidated by their respective embassies in Boston. This requirement often provides angst for students and their parents. As host parents, you will probably experience their anxiety. Relax! We have it under control. Here is the process we follow to prepare the documents for them.
At the end of the semester/year, AHS will generate transcripts, attendance records, and any other required records for each exchange student.
Documents will be printed, signed, and notarized by school officials (records cannot be generated until the end of the semester or school year, when final grades have been stored)
Documents will be mailed to Educatius International
Educatius International will bring documents to respective embassies to be validated/authenticated
Educatius International will mail completed documents to the local agencies in students home countries
Local agencies will provide completed documents to students.
Process will take several weeks to complete
AHS will also provide unofficial grades/transcripts to each student before they leave the school, these documents will provide temporary proof of their participation in our program.