The Tuscan-American High School Student Exchange Program has been active since 1997. The philosophy of the Italian Ministry of Education regarding study abroad programs is to ensure that “the primary scope of an exchange is the personal growth of those participating, through the enrichment of new cultural horizons and an orientation towards international understanding and peace”.

Our small program has seen over 300 Tuscan and American students take advantage of the opportunity to see how others work, play, study and live; to compare life styles and cultures, to make new friends and enjoy new horizons, and to create an exchange curriculum pro­ject together. Tuscan high schools from Florence, Bagno a Ripoli, Lucca, Prato, Grosseto, Carrara and Scandicci have found American partners from Providence, RI; Hartford, CT; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Carre, VT; Redmond, WA, Chicago, ILL; and New York, NY. In 2005 two new Tuscan schools, the Educandato SS Annunziata at Poggio Imperiale and the ISISTS Bertrand Russell-Isaac Newton in Scandicci, joined the program for their first exchange with their American partner schools.