SPI Safety First
SPI programs are designed for mature high school students to live and study safely in a foreign country. Our programs have been in operation since 1996 (originally named PATA – Programs Abroad Travel Alternatives – and since 2004 called SPI). Safety is our number one concern when selecting program sites, homestay families, excursions, and on-site directors. All program sites and excursions are selected by master language educators (AP/IB teachers with more than 30 years teaching experience) based on several factors: size, safety, low crime rates, location in the country, quality of our partner institutions abroad, quality of local homestay families, and many others. As our priority is to ensure safety and guarantee personalized attention for each student, we maintain small group sizes, with a student to on-site director ratio of typically one director for every eight students.
On-Site Directors & Daily Supervision
Directors and on-site staff are professional educators and caring leaders, committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of each student during the entire program. Directors actively participate on a daily basis with students in all aspects of the immersion experience: helping with homestay adjustments, checking in on classes and making sure students are taking advantage of the wonderful excursion and activity opportunities. Students are expected to be respectful of their directors’ guidelines and abide by the SPI standards of conduct at all times. SPI directors are available 24 hours a day and carry local cell phones at all times to ensure student safety.
Partner Institutions & Embassies
SPI maintains monthly contact throughout the school year, as well as daily contact with each of our partner schools during the summer to ensure that the local conditions of each program are adequate to our high academic standards. Our executive directors make several visits to each program site per year to make sure that all programs continue to maintain high standards of academic rigor and quality immersion. We also maintain regular contact with the U.S. State Department and U.S. Embassies in each of our program destination countries.
The SPI Team – At Home & Abroad
The SPI team both in Austin and internationally is highly trained and knowledgeable in operating every aspect of international programs. We are parents, alumni and educators that believe in the same mission of teaching young people culture, language, independence, and communication skills that give students a truly international perspective they take with them the rest of their lives.