Do Host Family Orientations need to be In Person?
An in-person host family orientation must be offered to each host family, but host families are not required to attend. All host families must complete the Online Host Family Orientation which is emailed to them upon completion of their Host Family Application.
Within how many days of arrival is orientation required for Hosted Students?
Within 7 days.
Do YES hosted students need a local orientation or is their orientation in Washington D.C. sufficient?
YES, Hosted students DO need a local orientation within 7 days of their arrival to their team. If a group orientation is not being offered in that time frame, a one-on-one orientation will be required.
Can a hosted student share a bed with another hosted student during orientation?
No. Hosted students should have their own beds/sleeping spaces at all overnight orientations including End of Stay (Departures) and Arrivals.
If our team wants to have all hosted students stay overnight in someone's home for orientation, is that okay?
Yes, as long as the family completes AFS Host Family Screening prior to hosting and the Team Development Specialist is informed of this plan in time to link all students to this family for the duration of the orientation. If all students will be going from this home to their fully-screened families, the host can have more than two students in their home as long as the stay is 7 days or less. In addition, students can not share sleeping quarters with members of the opposite sex or any adult host family members, AFS volunteers, or Staff. Students should have adequate sleeping accommodations appropriate to the length of the stay. For example a sleeping bag and pillow for an AFS Event or a standard or convertible bed for a stay of a week.
When is a good time to schedule Mid-Stay Orientation?
It is best to schedule Mid-Stay Orientations on dates that don't conflict with academic and other scheduled events. Per the College Board, "According to our formula, [SAT] test dates fall on the first Saturday in November, December, May and June; the second Saturday in October and March; and the fourth Saturday in January."