SAI relies on local contacts across the United States for placement, supervision and direct contact with all of our students, host families and schools.
A Local Contact serves as the most ground level position at SAI, yet the most significant and important position with SAI. The Local Contact serves as the first point of contact, both pro-active and problem solving for each student, host family and school in each and every community. SAI would not survive without professional and ethical local Contacts in the field as representatives.
The Local Contact most importantly serves as the protector of the very vulnerable exchange student. The Local Contact assists with cultural differences, adaptation issues, routine school issues, and sometimes is just there to give a hug. In the same frame the Local Contact also serves as the representative of the host family. The Local Contact assists the host family with many of the same issues, cultural differences, adaptation issues and small routine questions.
The Local Contact also functions prior to the student's arrival. They find and screen potential host families. They secure school enrollments and work with each individual school policies. The Local Contact is always working within the students' best interest, even before they know the student.
Being a local contact offers many opportunities.
- Meeting students/teenagers from all around the world
- Getting more involved with your local schools and the community
- Seeing your community through someone else's eyes
- Learning of cultures around the world
- All local contacts are paid a stipend
Who can be a Local contact?
Our Local Contacts come from all walks of life. They are stay at home moms and dads to top executives. If you have a love of learning, sharing and teenagers you are eligible. Many of our Local Contacts have been or still are host families. Share your world with an international youth and learn about their world. We want you to be a part of an International Community and SAI's family. Join us for the excitement of a new cultural experience.
The responsibilities of the Local Contact include:
- Screening potential host families to include an in-home interview and three reference checks.
- Secure written high school enrollment at the local public high school or a private high school prior to the arrival of the exchange student.
- Fill out and submit all required paperwork to the National Headquarters. Ensure all documents are accurate, legible, and complete. The paperwork includes, but is not limited to: an in-home interview form; reference check form; high school acceptance form; host family application with photos, host family orientation and student orientation forms: and monthly contact forms.
- Perform a host family orientation prior to the exchange visitor's arrival in the community and a student orientation within two weeks of the student's arrival. Monitor and supervise all facets of the placement for the duration of the exchange visitor's program. Contact the student and host family separately monthly. You must have an in-person contact bi-monthly.
- Complete and send to the National Headquarters all contact logs monthly.
- Abide by all regulations that govern exchange programs.
How does a Local Contact get paid?
SAI pays its Local contacts for each student he or she places and supervises. This fee is paid in 3 parts: placement fee, orientation fee and supervision fee. Please review a Local Contact contract available in the SAI forms section of this website. SAI also provides a training trip to wonderful new locations each year for our Local Contacts who place 8 or more students. Come Join Us!
If this is for you, please click here and complete the online application and email back to us.
SAI relies on local contacts across the United States for placement, supervision and direct contact with all of our students, host families and schools.
Our Student American International representatives provide ongoing support for SAI students and their host families, and as such, are key to the SAI support network.
Meet our students and decide if you'll be the loving host family to bring the world closer together for an exchange student.
