Local Coordinator Jan Ligman has been working with CIEE for five years and in that time has supervised dozens of CIEE High School USA students. Living in the Coachella Valley, California, Jan works with students attending Palm Valley School and Desert Sands Unified School District.
Jan first decided to become a Local Coordinator after she and her husband hosted several international college students and enjoyed learning about them and their countries. In her work outside of CIEE, Jan is an elementary school teacher and has been working with children for over 30 years. She has her Master’s degree in education. Throughout the year Jan supports her students at their various athletic and extracurricular events and always looks for the best in the students she supervises. At CIEE, we recognize that you work with students who want to attend university in the United States. That is why we are so excited to remind you about a new program that helps your clients realize that dream! How it works CIEE College Counseling helps students from around the globe build school lists, perfect their essays, submit competitive applications, and more. It’s the perfect opportunity for your clients to ask questions, discuss goals, and get started with an action-oriented task list. Sometimes the high price tag of private schools can deter budget-conscious families from considering them as an option for their student. In addition to having higher tuition rates they often are located within more affluent suburbs where the cost of living can be greater therefore contributing to higher host family stipends. However, there are two reasons why you should strongly consider independent schools. Many private schools have been enrolling international students for many years and are now realizing that the market is shifting. To maintain a strong pipeline of international students, we encourage private schools to look at tuition discounting to attract international students. However, rather than setting a standard tuition discount amount, private schools may choose to negotiate a tuition discount package based on an individual student’s academic or extracurricular strengths. Private schools have selective admissions processes therefore have the ability to build their student body based on the mission and needs of the school. If you have a particularly strong student or a student whom you think will fit a particular school exceptionally, well please reach out to your CIEE International Sales Consultant to discuss the possibility. CIEE can work directly with many of the independent schools on our list to negotiate a lower tuition rate on a case-by-case basis. When Shino from Japan was deciding where to spend her senior year in the United States, she knew she wanted to be near Miami. Her parents wanted to be in a private school. Divine Savior Academy in Doral, Florida, was the perfect combination. Shino benefited from the school’s excellent academics, small class sizes, new buildings, and variety of AP classes while learning American culture and living with a host family nearby. Immersing herself in American culture, Shino fulfilled a dream “of going to homecoming since it doesn’t exist in Japan and it was so much fun” and learned local customs. “What surprised me the most is the way to greet. Since Miami has Hispanic-influenced culture, they kiss on cheek when they greet. In Japan, people tend to keep a certain distance especially with new people so it was new to me.” Of all her experiences so far, Shino says the “basketball team made me have new friends from different grades so that was my favorite part.” After she graduates this year Shino will return home to Japan and study medicine in university. She believes “English is definitely a big part I gained from this experience but also being in new environment without anyone you know made me independent and I believe this experience will help me in the future a lot.” Her advice for future CIEE students? “Be open minded and learn new cultures and meet new people as much as you can.”
Yarmouth High School |