General FAQ

Intercultural Student Experiences (ISE) is a nonprofit international educational organization, located in Minnesota. ISE was created by foreign language teachers to provide unique foreign language immersion experiences for high school students outside their classrooms. These educational experiences are structured to develop and reinforce what is learned in the classroom.

ISE mission: to inspire and educate students of the world through experiential learning across cultures. Learn more about ISE.

As a nonprofit, all of our programs provide ways to meet our mission. The majority of ISE travel programs include a family stay, which allows participants to experience first-hand another culture and way of life. The family stay is a unique opportunity to use and develop language skills and cultural competency. It also provides an immersion experience that complements the travel itinerary.

Students and teachers/leaders are expected to speak the foreign language during the entire program. This provides invaluable practice of language skills learned in the classroom in real-life situations with native speakers.

To prepare for this, ISE provides dynamic preparatory educational materials in the target language to prepare each student for his/her travel abroad. ISE also sponsors an annual Teacher Workshop for traveling teachers to help them prepare for this experience as well.

ISE maintains a large financial aid fund to help low-income students. ISE also provides awards and other grants to teachers, schools and world language departments.

ISE is a financially sound nonprofit so teacher and administrators can feel confident selecting ISE.

It means that ISE complies with laws governing nonprofit organizations and we are committed to comply with principles and practices of nonprofit excellence. This includes ISE’s role in society, governance, strategic planning, transparency, accountability, fundraising, financial management, human resources, civic engagement, strategic alliances and evaluation. For more information on what the principles and practices are, go to: http://www.mncn.org/info_principles2.htm.

It also means that ISE is not “owned” by shareholders, but rather is committed to its stakeholders: in this case, the teachers, students and families we serve.

Over the past few months, ISE has fielded questions regarding stakeholder concern about poorly managed travel companies/organizations that have closed leaving travelers with no way to recoup their financial payments.  We at ISE are proud of our fiscal responsibility, our reserves maintained to support us in lean times, and our commitment to reasonable pricing while ensuring we meet our educational mission.  As a stakeholder, you can view our yearly 990 or request a copy of our most recent audit.  Also feel free to contact our Executive Director if you have additional questions.

As a nonprofit organization, ISE does not enjoy any “breaks” from our business partners in the U.S. or abroad. We still have to pay our travel expenses at market rate. Fortunately, by choosing to work with a nonprofit organization, you can be confident our focus is on using dollars for program investment. This means all of the dollars you spend on a program with ISE goes back in to programs that support teachers, students and their families. This includes the trip components, materials and educational resources provided to teachers and students to prepare for their experience abroad.

Yes! ISE meets its mission by providing financial aid to qualified students. Learn more here.

There are numerous benefits of traveling abroad! Among them are:

• Opportunities to use language skills developed in the classroom in real-life situations with native speakers
• Developing self-reliance and travel survival skills: map-reading, asking directions, understanding itineraries, using foreign currency
• Hands-on lessons in geography, history, math (currency, budgeting), and cultural competence
• Experiencing first-hand daily life in another culture
• Reflecting on the experience of being outside one’s comfort zone

• Promote cultural understanding by sharing your family’s customs and traditions with an international student, and learn about his/hers
• Help an international student build his/her English skills
• Develop a relationship with a family from overseas. Many host families go to visit their student in his/her home country!
• Receive a discount/rebate on your own ISE travel program.

Teachers and students who travel on ISE’s Cultural Immersion Abroad Programs (CIAP) frequently coordinate a variety of post-program activities. They enthusiastically share their experiences with civic and social organizations. Some teachers arrange projects and presentations for use in the elementary schools.

Teachers, students and host families who participate in ISE’s US Hosting Program (USHP) directly benefit their communities by welcoming students from Spain, France or Germany into their homes. Not only do the host families provide these visiting students a cultural immersion experience and practice speaking English, but they also learn about another culture from an “expert”.