from the director, Melanie French

Dear Friends,

i s s u e . . .INStaff Directory....................................... 1

2009 Calendar Year .............................. 2

The Lindner Wedding .......................... 2

Orientation 2009 .................................. 3

January Orientation 2010.................... 3

How Did the Home Office Rate? ........ 3

Compliance Corner .............................. 4

January Placements .............................. 4

Buenos Aires – Here We Come! .......... 5

Quality & Quantity ............................... 5

Training 201 .......................................... 6

LC of the Month – August ................... 6

LC of the Quarter ................................. 6

Staff Stats ............................................. 7

thisFirst and foremost, a huge thank you to all of you who worked with us to place 847 students who arrived in August to great host families and high schools! We had all of our students placed and assigned by July 29th, which is a record for us, and completed all the final placements by August 18th.

I also want to thank and commend you for submitting all of the necessary forms and documents for each of your placements. Our Compliance Manager, Sarah Lindner (formerly Fergemann) and her assistant, Heather Griffith, were responsible for tracking down over 5,000 documents to complete our placement season. This is not an easy task and we appreciate your prompt assistance to help us keep in 100% compliance with the Department of State regulations.

You have all also participated in either your new Local Coordinator training or the Training 201 refresher training for LC’s by this time. We feel it is essential to keep our team of LC’s up-to-date on your responsibilities and to help you find ways to better manage and deliver your services to our students, host families and high schools. Thank you for making this a priority and attending these essential training sessions.

We are now working on placing our January 2010 students and already have 10 placements with the first two made by Sheila Green in Missouri and Debbie Fink in Ohio. Remember that January placements count as a qualification for the 2010 National Meeting, which you will not want to miss! We suggest you line up your host families now and then select a student for them as the students become available. To help you and your host families plan, we expect to receive the following breakdown in the chart to the right of students for January.

We also send Alexis Mason best wishes as she has decided to stay home with her beautiful baby, Brooke. Alexis has been a member of the AYA team first as a Regional Director and most recently as our Field Staff Administrator. We value her contributions to the program and wish her all the best. We will be in touch shortly with information about who will be filling this role.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you in Argentina in November. It promises to be a fun meet-ing full of friends, training and tours! Thank you again for your dedication to AYA and to our students and host families.

Regards,

Germany 50

Brazil 15

China 10

Yes-Malaysia 10

Other 15

Total 100

1 Super Memo Fall 2009

AYA Staff Directory

Melanie FrenchDirector

Phone 203 399 5100Fax 203 399 5300

Sarah LindnerGrants & Compliance

Manager Phone 203 399 5063

Fax 203 399 5263

Lori BergherrDeputy Director

Phone 203 399 5097Fax 203 399 5297

Christophe PetibonInternational Enrollment

Coordinator Phone 203 399 5064

Fax 203 399 5264

Mailyn CalvarPlacementCoordinator

Phone 203 399 5080 Fax 203 399 5280

Michele RossaPlacement ManagerPhone 203 399 5096

Fax 203 399 5296

Alisha CollinsRegional Director

Phone 203 399 5086Fax 203 399 5286

Heather GriffithComplianceCoordinator

Phone 203 399 5539Fax 203 399 5259

Lisa DeBeradinisRegional Director

Phone 203 399 5070Fax 203 399 5262

Laura MoorhouseRegional Director

Phone 203 399 5086Fax 203 399 5256

Melissa GulledgeTraining Manager

Phone 888 818 2525Fax 888 848 1994

Ana DislaGrants & Compliance

CoordinatorPhone 203 399 5414

Fax 203 399 5214

Annie SmithApplicationsCoordinator

Phone 203 399 5066Fax 203 399 5266

Patti StackProgram Operations

ManagerPhone 203 399 5084

Fax 203 399 5284

Sheila FomenkoHigh School Liaison &

Orientation AdministratorPhone 203 399 5082

Fax 203 399 5282

Charlene GarciaGrants Regional

DirectorPhone 203 399 5071

Fax 203 399 5271

Kira GreenwoodRegional Director

Phone 203 399 5081Fax 203 399 5281

2Super Memo Fall 2009

2009CalendarTake a look at

placement and

supervision

news in the

upcoming months!

Placement LC’s make January place-ments

Supervision Supervision and counsel-ing of students continue as needed

Placement Final January students are placed; LC’s provide host family orientations for January placements

Supervision January student flight information sent out; Supervision and counsel-ing of students continue as needed

Student reports are due by 12/1

Placement January applications ar-rive for students; January profiles are sent out; LC’s place January students

Supervision Students begin to settle in with their host fami-lies & schools; Last few students arrive

Placement January applications ar-rive for students; January profiles are sent out; LC’s place January students

Supervision Supervision and counsel-ing of students continue as needed

Student reports are due by 10/1

December September October November

Mrs. Sarah (Fergemann) Lindner!For those who don’t already know, I got married over the summer! My husband Jason and I were married on Saturday, June 6th in my home town of Cedar Falls, Iowa. We were fortunate to be able to celebrate our special day with many family and friends. The weather was overcast and slightly rainy, but we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day. The ceremony was at 4pm in a beautiful old church on a quiet, tree lined street. We followed the ceremony with a wonderful dinner and dance reception. The wedding party included my 3 sisters, Jason’s sister, and my best friend from college on my side, and Jason’s cousin, his brother-in-law, and 3 of his fraternity brothers on his side. Our honeymoon was in Hawaii and we fell in love with the beautiful islands – especially Kauai. We can’t wait to be able to go back again someday!

The Wedding Party

The Bride & Groom

Congratulations!

3 Super Memo Fall 2009

This summer, the beautiful Embassy Suites Hotel in Parsippany, NJ was home to close to 500 incoming AYA students attending a three-day orientation. AYA held three sessions throughout the month of August, and each one of them was a success. With the help of several AYA staff, Local Coordinators, and teenage volunteers, the orientations went off without a hitch and students left us with a deeper understanding of the AYA program.

During their time at the orientation the students participated in three informative workshops and were treated to a half-day bus tour of New York City. They made stops at the Top of the Rock, Central Park, South Street Seaport, Times Square, and had dinner at the Hard Rock Café. It was great watching the expressions on their faces as they saw the incredible sights for the first time. For most, it was their first time in New York City.

We would like to extend a special thank you to the Local Coordinators that volunteered their time for AYA this summer. We know orientation is a busy time with long hours and you all did a great job for us! Special recognition goes to: Connie Baumgardner, Charity Watterson, Marga-rette Stoiljkovic, Revonda Sawyer, Becki Smorynski, Nancy Looper, Cindy Martinez, Mark Schaffer, and Ryan Dunfee. Thank you to all of you for your hard work and amazing energy with the students!

Orientation 2009 by Sheila Fomenko

Local Coordinator Survey - How Did the Home Office Rate?Academic Year in America is committed to providing the best possible support to our Local Coordinators. In the spring we sent a survey by email to all Local Coordinators asking for feedback regarding our support and service to you.

Below is a summary of the Local Coordinator survey:

77% said that you are always or usually satisfied with the overall support of the AYA staff.

72% responded that AYA staff always or usually responds to

messages within 24 hours. 89% said that their host families received student flight infor-

mation in a timely fashion. 77% said they receive their LC payments in a timely fashion.

80% responded that their Regional Director is always or usually supportive.

75% replied that they could turn to their Regional Director for

questions and concerns. 74% responded that the AYA marketing materials are helpful in

placing students.

We are pleased that the responses were, in general, positive. We have reviewed your comments and find them helpful. We are committed to refining and improving our service to our local coordinators, students and families. Your honest feedback is essential as we search for new ways to increase and enhance our support to our valuable field staff. AYA has a dedicated and talented staff - but we all have room for improvement! What would life be without new challenges?!

January Orientation 2010 AYA will be offering an optional Mid-Year Orientation this year. Over the past three years we have held this orientation with our Congress Bundestag Scholarship students and it has proven to be an excellent enhancement to the program. The students have a chance to meet up with friends and peers to discuss their experiences and learn what the other students have been doing. It is also a great opportunity for our AYA staff to check in on the students and learn from their experiences. You will find enclosed a detailed brochure on the Orientation and a sample registration form. The space is limited to a maximum of 150 students and students are encouraged to register as soon as possible! They can fax or mail the registration form along with their deposit to Sheila Fomenko.

Send Registration forms to Sheila at:

Academic Year in AmericaAttn: Sheila FomenkoRiver Plaza, 9 West Broad St.Stamford, CT 06902

or fax to: 203 399-5282

4Super Memo Fall 2009

Compliance Corner by Sarah Lindner and Heather Griffith

Top 10 reasons to submit your paperwork on time:

10. You get paid faster.

9. The U.S. Department of State says you have to.

8. Heather will stop calling and emailing you incessantly.

7. Your student can be notified of the placement faster -- early notification = less supervision issues.

6. You don’t want to be known as “the slacker” at National Meeting.

5. Your host family can be given the student’s contact informa-tion faster – early communication = less supervision issues.

4. You are contributing to the success of our great program.

3. If a principal has a bout of amnesia and forgot he enrolled your student, you will have the necessary documentation to help jog his memory.

2 Did we mention that Heather will leave you alone.

1. We can ensure that all of our students are placed in screened, clean, safe homes.

Thank you everyone for your hard work this placement season. Thanks to your dedication, placements were made earlier than ever before which gave us time process paperwork and be in compliance with the Department of State regula-tions. As we move into the school year, and with supervision heating up, here are a couple of brief reminders to help everything run smoothly and to ensure the safety of our students:

1. Please follow up with any faxes you send to be sure the entire transmission is received. If you have any questions, we are just a phone call or email away, and we’re happy to confirm receipt of any paperwork you sent.

2. When sending background checks for host family changes, please put the student ID on the form whenever possible so we know to run it right away. If we’re not sure who the family is, sometimes background checks aren’t run immediately.

3. When making a host family change, please remember that stu-dents CAN NOT MOVE until all paperwork is received. If it is ur-gent that the student leave the home immediately, they must stay with you as the LC, or with another current approved host family until the paperwork for the new family has been fully processed and approved. Your RD must be notified immediately if any stu-dent moves to your home, or to the home of another approved host family so that they can notify the overseas partner.

Thank you again for everything you do and for making this one of the most successful placement seasons in recent history. We appreciate your dedication, and your help in keeping us compliant with Depart-ment of State regulations!

January Placements by Michele Rossa

After an incredibly successful summer placement season, I am pleased to announce that we are done! Thanks to you, our committed and hard working field staff, AYA placed 847 young ambassadors in caring host families and high schools across the nation.

We now take on the, seemingly, much less daunting task of placing an additional 100 students for the January Semester program. Several January student applications have already arrived in our office, and we are anticipating the bulk of our profiles to be received by October 1st. As we head into the next phase of placement here are a few reminders and notes:

• January Students (both boys and girls!) will earn qualifications towards AYA’s 2010 National Meeting!

• It is important to check with your schools regarding enrollment policies for Spring Semester students. While many schools are open to accepting students in January, some schools will not enroll mid-year, or have very early application deadlines. It’s important to confirm these policies, prior to taking stu-dents on assignment or placing.

• This year Wish List’s will only be accepted if you have a Host Family requesting a specific type of student, or if the local coordinator will be the host family. Please submit the name of the host family wishing to host the student you have requested along with the Wish List form. Wish List students should be placed within 24 hours of their application becoming available. As always, Wish List’s are issued on a first come, first served basis.

The entire placement team is looking forward to a wonderful January season. The RD team is ready and ex-cited to work with a fantastic field staff to make these last 100 dreams come true in 2009. For those of you coming to Buenos Aires, we are eagerly anticipating a terrific meeting; and for those of you who couldn’t make it there, we hope that the January Season will help bring you to next year’s fabulous destination!

– Happy Placing!

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”

Buenos Aires, HERE WE COME!

LC’s attending this year include:

Cindy Anderson, OHWayne Anderson, OHJohn Back, (+ companion), KSThor Bahrman, KYTony Barnett (+ companion) WAConnie Baumgardner (+companion), INTheresa Benevides, AREdy Bercher (plus companion), CAJane Bigler (+ companion), KSDorothy Brown (+ companion), TXLynn Burris (+ companion), FLMarie Caballero (+ companion), TXStacy Dorsett, NCRyan Dunfee, OHMary Edwards (+ companion), ALSteve Eichman (+ companion), WIPat Evans, MILinda Fetcher (+ companion), INChristine Gaffner (+ companion), INLinda Germain, NYGreg Gore (+ companion), GASheila Green (+ companion) MOJames Gresham, TXCarol Hall, NCDebbie Hardee (+ companion), FLShirley Jackson (+ companion), NJ

Ginger Jeffcoat (+ companion), NCKathy Jones, SDMary Karnes (+ companion), ARRobert Kelley (+ companion), WINancy Looper (+ companion), ARRachel Lyon, TXGerri Manlove (+ companion), TXCindy Martinez (+ companion), TXBarbara McCoy Burke, AZHugh McMullen (+ companion), SCLinda Miele, SCMarilyn Murchie (+ companion) MTRevonda Sawyer (+ companion) ALBeth Scarborough, TXMark Schaffer, MISusan Schriever (+ companion), NESheri Schuster (+ companion) IDCathy Scott, NDAnita Senesac, INJeannette Singleton, TXBecki Smorynski (+ companion), TCMargarette Stoiljkovic, ILNancy Stubbs, IAMarilu Trelles, TXCharity Watterson (+ companion), KY

New local Coordinator’s attending this year include:Emily Barberena (+ companion), MSJoyce Cummings (+ companion), TXDorothy Flees, WI

Laurie Jacobsen (+ companion) MOGary Lyon, TXPatricia Parker, MOStacy Pelham (+ companion), FLKevin Ricks, MD

• Brazil • China • Chile • GermanyHOTEL INFORMATION:

Golden Tulip Savoy Hotelwww.gtsavoyhotel.com.ar

Extension Trip:After the meeting, 50 local coordinators and guests will travel via Buquebus ferry to the his-torical city Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay for the National Meeting extension trip.

Radisson Colonia Del Sacramento Hotel & Casinowww.radissoncolonia.com

Extension to the Extension:A small group of LC’s will then fly to the Iguazu Falls to tour the falls and enjoy the local activities.

Panoramic Hotel Iguazuwww.panoramic-hoteliguazu.com

In less than 2 months, 60 local coordinators, and 35 guests coming from 30 different States will join the AYA staff to travel to the exciting and vibrant city of Buenos Aires for AYA’s annual National Meeting. This year’s event promises to be filled with lots of fun activities, optional tours, great food and educational workshops.

Quality and QuantityWe are pleased to recognize the following Local Coordinators who placed the highest number of students each AND who have a reputation for selecting strong and supportive host families: Debi Hardee, FL

Jane Bigler, KS

Tony Barnett, WA

John Back, KS

Shirley Jackson, NJ

Sheila Green, MO

Chris Gaffner, IN

Lynn Burris, FL

Marilyn Murchie, WY

Sheri Schuster, ID

Congratulations and thanks to all of you!

Leann Tatge, MO

Our overseas partners from the following countries will also join us as they look forward to meeting and seeing everyone.

� Supermemo Fall 2009

6Super Memo Fall 2009

Training 201Thanks to all Local Coordinators who participated in “Training 201: Continuing Education for AYA LC’s” in August 2009. This training was a refresher for most LCs. It covered topics such as Placement Information, Emergency Host Families, and new Student Supervision Reports among several others. It also clearly defined the requirements of Monthly Contact for Students and Host Families. Enclosed you will find a summary covering all of the information that was presented in the training. The U.S. Department of State requires that all LC’s receive training. Your attendance at this training session was required so that AYA meets USDOS regulations. Please sign the enclosed form stating that you have received this informa-tion and fax it immediately to AYA Compliance at 1-203-399-5259.

We’re confident that you gained something from this important training and that it will help you communicate better, enjoy your role as an LC more and achieve greater success with your students, host families and high schools.

Student Choice Awards… LC of the Month!This year we have given all AYA students the opportunity to nomi-nate their LC for recognition and reward. We have asked students to send AYA an e-mail to tell us why their LC is the greatest, about any special things you do for them or any special activities that you enjoyed together and to attach any photos.

A committee from AYA will review the submissions each month and will highlight the winner on our website. The LC of the Month will receive a $50 American Express Giftcard and be entered in a raffle in June to receive a gift with a value of up to $500!

Since we know you are all great, we expect to be bombarded with nominations all year long! Your students should send their nomi-nations throughout the year to Melissa Gulledge at mgulledge@aifs.org.

LC of the Month for August is...

“...I think Becki is the best coordinator because she is always willing to help.” - Halyna

Becki SmorynskiBecki was nominated by Halyna Lytvynchuk of the Ukraine - FLX037.

LC of The Quarter: Shirley Jackson of New Jersey By Alisha Collins

Here at Academic Year in America, we pride ourselves on the quality of service that we provide to our overseas partners, our students and our volunteer host families. In order for us to extend our services to both our stu-dents and host families, we rely heavily on our Local Coordinators. Our Local Coordinators are so vital to our mission of cultural exchange as they are the face of AYA in their local communities and they are an integral part of the placement and supervision process for our exchange students. As expected, our Local Coordinators follow an important list of guidelines when placing and supervising students, but it is those LC’s that go above and beyond that make this program so successful. I am proud to announce the LC of the Quarter, Shirley Jackson of New Jersey for her continual efforts that go beyond what is expected.

Shirley Jackson has placed numerous students over the years for AYA and in my short time as her Regional Director, she has been one of my LC’s that I can reach out to, for just about anything. Shirley’s passion for cultural exchange is infectious throughout her community and she has built flourishing relationships with host families and school administration in order to carry out our mission. Not only does she form relationships with her families and schools, she builds life long relationships with the students she has placed and hosted. One of her exchange students, Nina stated: “I was an exchange student in 1997 and was so fortunate for having Shirl Jackson as my local coordinator. She was more than that, she was my friend, my NJMom, my angel - and still is! Since then we became family and I just have to thank God daily for having such a special person in my life!” Shirley’s commitment to AYA and its mission are appreciated and we can’t thank her enough for all her hard work.

Congratulations Shirley!

LC News!

7 Super Memo Fall 2009is a publication of the AIFS Foundation Academic Year in America program

AYA Staff Stats

Birth Place: Armenia, Colombia

College or University attended? University of Pennsylvania/Cornell University

How long have you worked for AYA? 9 years

Favorite Book or Movie?Paula by Isabel Allende

Favorite Food?Salmon

Hobbies?Fitness, hiking, swimming, traveling

Fondest childhood memory?Spending Sundays with my father

Do you have children? Ages? One daughter, 28 and a stepdaughter, 35

Do you have pets? No

Favorite place you have traveled to? Paris

Have you ever studied abroad? If so, where? Colombia

Something about yourself that most people do not know?That my grandfather was from Turkey

Birth Place: Greenwich, CT

College or University attended? Stonehill College in Easton, MA

How long have you worked for AYA?One and a half years

Favorite Book or Movie?The Wizard of Oz

Favorite Food?Pizza

Hobbies?Playing basketball and hanging out at the beach during the summer

Fondest childhood memory? Attending Sesame Street Live and having Big Bird ask me my name and use it for the Name Game Song

Do you have children? No

Do you have pets? No

Favorite place you have traveled to? JamaicaHave you ever studied abroad? No

Something about yourself that most people do not know? I’m very superstitious

Name: Alisha Rene Collins

Birth Date: October 21

Horoscope: Libra

Name: Annie Smith

Birth Date: October 28

Horoscope: Scorpio

Fall 2009 Quarterly Issue