(Photo by Kris Todd) EF Foundation for Foreign Study Coordinator Janet Dillard, center, presents Spencer High School Guidance Counselor Eileen Gengler with an award recognizing SHS as a 2007-08 School of the Year for its participation in hosting exchange students. Students Sascha Schulz, Diana Yule and Mallie Kleppen, from left, were placed in SHS this school year through the EF Foundation exchange program. [Order this photo]

Spencer High School (SHS) is one of 32 schools nationwide to be recognized as a 2007-08 School of the Year by EF Foundation for Foreign Study. This award is given annually to high schools that make hosting exchange students a top priority and that foster environments of international awareness and cultural celebration.

This year, SHS worked with EF Foundation to welcome three students -- Sascha Schulz of Germany, Diana Yule of Colombia, and Mallie Kleppen of Norway -- into its academic and extracurricular community. Not only were the exchange students made to feel welcome, but they became integral parts of the high school's character, making the exchange experience one that everyone involved with will remember for years to come.

"Spencer High School has shown real commitment to international exchange throughout the school year," said local EF Coordinator Janet Dillard of Dickens. "The school's administration, teachers and students helped make Spencer and Dickens a new home for our students. I am so proud that Spencer High School has been recognized from among hundreds of schools across the country."

Foreign exchange students were placed in over 2,000 schools in the United States this school year through EF Foundation. Since 1979, EF Foundation's team of volunteers, coordinators and staff has helped over 90,000 students from nearly 40 countries participate in international exchange programs.