Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon for academic semester and year homestay programs, and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families.

The students are anxiously awaiting news of their new families. These young ambassadors are looking forward to fulfilling their life-long dreams.

According to Pacific Intercultural Exchange (P.I.E.) Executive Director, John Doty, the students are all between the ages of 15 and 18, are English-speaking, have their own spending money, carry accident and health insurance and are anxious to share their cultural experiences with their new American families.

There are currently programs to match almost every family's needs, ranging in length from a semester to a full academic year, where the students attend local high schools.

Area representatives match students with host families by finding common interests and lifestyles through an informal in-home meeting. Prospective host families are able to review student applications and select the perfect match. As there are no "typical" host families, students can fit into just about any situation, whether it is a single parent, a childless couple, a retired couple or a large family.

Families who host are also eligible to claim a $50.00 per month charitable contribution deduction on their itemized tax returns for each month they host a sponsored student.

For the upcoming programs, there are students from Germany, the Former Soviet Union, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Australia, Yugoslavia, China and many other countries. Thanks to two special government-funded programs, scholarship students will also come from the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union as well as predominantly Islamic countries such as Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar to the United States.

The Pacific Intercultural Exchange is a non-profit educational organization that has sponsored more than 25,000 students from 45 countries since 1975. Doty encourages families to contact the program immediately, as it will allow the proper time for the students and hosts to get to know one another before they actually meet for the first time.

King County area families interested in learning more about student exchange or arranging for a meeting with a community representative may call toll-free, 1-866-546-1402. The agency also has travel/study program opportunities available for American high school students as well as possibilities for community volunteers to assist and work with area host families, students and schools.