Clarkston students and teachers recount decade-long Japan exchange; program to resume this summer

Faye Valtadors, who leads the districts Japanese program, updated the board on Clarkston Community Schoolss sister-school exchange with Chiba Higashi High School in Japan and said the program will resume full exchanges this summer.

Valtadors said the program began in 2006 and has grown from an initial 10 visiting students to a regular exchange of about 16 students. She described logistics changes: the program moved from two-week visits to one-week visits to better fit school calendars and now typically sends 1516 students to Japan; host-family placements are part of the exchange both in Michigan and in Chiba.

During visits, Valtadors said Japanese students present on culture, daily life and history in English; when Clarkston students visit Japan, they present in Japanese. She described community events in Clarkston that showcased Japanese culture, including a 2024 celebration featuring origami, yukata fittings and food activities, and noted a collaborative service project in the U.S. in which students packed about 90 disaster-relief buckets.

Several students who previously participated in exchanges addressed the board, describing close friendships with their Japanese hosts, cultural learning, and lasting relationships. Paul, Lucas, Spencer Brennan and Ava Ross each described personal experiences hosting and visiting, and emphasized that language barriers were overcome by shared activities and continued contact.

Valtadors said she will take 15 students and a chaperone to Japan this summer to visit Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima and Chiba, and students will stay with host families; some hostings will be reciprocal with the same students who hosted here.