School Year Abroad
School Year Abroad places American high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in one of four independently operated schools in China, Italy, France or Spain for a full academic year. Students intensively learn the respective language of their country and live with a carefully selected host family. The program includes extensive cultural immersion, select courses taught in the native language and requisite subjects such as math and English taught in English. The program provides academic advisors, college counseling services, and administers the AP, SAT, SAT II, and PSAT tests at each school. Students earn U.S. high school credits while attending SYA and preparing for selective U.S. colleges and universities. SYA guides students through a challenging curriculum focused on developing skills for an increasingly interdependent world. Central to the SYA experience is the adventure of fully engaging with different languages, cultures and peoples.
Spanish teacher Clark Vaughan conceived the idea, which was founded at Phillips Academy and its founding charter member schools are Phillips Exeter Academy, and St. Paul's School, although it operates independently of these, and its 41 member schools. SYA's home office is located in North Andover, Massachusetts.
SYA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, and SYA France celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.
The current president of School Year Abroad is Thomas Hassan, former President of Phillips Exeter Academy and former first gentleman of New Hampshire.
Spain
The program in Spain is SYA's oldest. The original incarnation was "Schoolboys Abroad" and consisted of 11 students accompanied by founder Clark Vaughan and his wife Polly, plus two more teachers, who in 1964, traveled by ship on the MS Aurelia to study in Barcelona, Spain. Polly Vaughan chose the symbol that continues to serve as the logo for the program. Their son Christopher was in the fourth Andover class to participate in SYA.Though founded in Barcelona, the program relocated to Zaragoza in 1999. The move took place in order to facilitate the ease with which students learned and heard Castilian Spanish spoke around them. As the program grew in Barcelona, it became clear that the proliferation of Catalan, as well as the number of tourists, detracted from the immersion of the students. The move to Zaragoza, the fifth largest city in Spain, provided students with a city environment with less tourist attraction, making it necessary for Castilian Spanish to be spoken throughout the city.
SYA Spain students attend classes on the sprawling, 425-square-meter second floor of a Neoclassical building in Zaragoza's city center on Paseo de Pamplona.
School-to-School Exchanges
SYA students here are able to participate in various school-to-school exchanges all over the country, providing excellent opportunities to become friends with Spanish students their own age. These range from exchanges lasting one to five days to evening seminars organized once a week.
Through "One Day Here, One Day There", an SYA student spends a day at a high school in Zaragoza, hosted by a counterpart their age; that same Spanish student attends classes at SYA the next day.
The program “Five days in...” Burgos, Madrid, Toledo or Sevilla enables an SYA student to go to one of these cities to attend classes and live with a local host family for five full days.
France
SYA France is located in Rennes, the capital of Brittany. Founded in 1967, it is SYA's second oldest program. SYA France is open to students who are currently enrolled in at least level II of French. The majority of students take seven credits, including English and math. All but the English and math courses are taught in French.Students are required to take English, math, and French language and culture. In addition to the three core courses, 3 other elective courses are required from the options of: French literature, art history, modern history, politics, visual media, architectural history, and environmental science.
Based on language proficiency tests administered in September and language-study previous records, students are placed in one of four groups. for the courses taught in French. Adjustments in the groups are generally made early in the year if appropriate. Math placement is based on prior experience and a placement test. Courses meet for a minimum of four 45-minute periods per week.
SYA France school trips are scheduled in accordance with the French academic calendar; during French school vacations, students travel all over France and/or Europe.
China
In 1994, the Chinese government allowed School Year Abroad to begin a program in Beijing. It was the first of its kind at either a high school or college level, with students being placed in host families for the full school year. The program operates out of the Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. SYA China is open to both beginners and students who have already studied Mandarin. All students take Mandarin Chinese Language, Chinese History and Chinese Society and Culture along with English and math, for a total of six credits. These courses meet four or five periods each week with the exception of Chinese Culture and Society and Mandarin Chinese Language. Chinese Culture and Society meets two periods each week in addition to guest lectures and field trips. Mandarin Chinese Language meets everyday of the week for 2 consecutive periods. All courses except for Advanced Algebra with Functions, Precalculus and Advanced Topics in Mathematics, and Chinese Society and Culture are taught at the honors or AP level.Martial arts, traditional Chinese brush painting, calligraphy and music are offered as noncredit courses, pass/fail. Each course meets once per week. Home schools may accept these courses for credit if deemed appropriate. School Year Abroad does not distinguish between tenth- eleventh- and twelfth-grade students in the organization of classes.
Students participate in the host high school's special events such as Sports Day as well as clubs such as Bilingual Club.
Students are placed in class according to their proficiency in Chinese, which is assessed by a diagnostic exam administered at the beginning of the school year.