Students from Spain can earn credit back home for their year in the United States, but only if they follow meet Spain's validation requirements. And it all begins with school registration. In this post, you will learn how to enroll a student from Spain in school.
If Spanish validation were a game, the official rules would include registering in the "right" grade and taking the "right" classes. But what does that really mean?
In fact, the rules are not this simple. Fortunately, there is an expert (at the exchange agency in Spain) who is very interested in providing support and then checking your student's school registration papers to be sure everything is correct.
1. Register in the "Correct" Grade.
When a student from Spain asks to register in the “correct” grade, this is the grade level he or she would be completing back home. What’s the catch? Some U.S. high schools cannot accommodate this request. In this case, ask your student to contact the Spanish exchange agency for instructions.
2. Choose Subjects to Validate.
The next step is to choose which subjects to validate. Your student from Spain will need to validate four or five subjects depending on which grade level they will validate in Spain. (Students who need to validate Grade 12 in Spain must choose five subjects if they will not receive a high school diploma in the USA.)
In order to validate a subject, your student must earn one credit in that subject by choosing courses from the Spanish Education Ministry's list of Credit Courses.
And please note, the Grade 12 students from Spain need to follow special rules when choosing their subjects. Again, the expert at their exchange agency in Spain can answer any questions.
3. Choose Course Titles from Spain's List.
The next step is to register for classes that are eligible for credit in Spain (below). If a course title does not match the list below, your student must consult with the exchange agency in Spain before signing up.
Next we need to be sure your student will earn enough credits to validate each chosen subject, so keep reading.
4. Enroll in One Credit per Subject.
Remember those subject areas we looked at (above)?
Your student must earn one credit for each subject he/she aims to validate. At most schools, this means that your student needs to take a subject all year, but this is not always the case. If your school has a trimester or block schedule whereby students earn 1 credit in one semester or two trimesters, your student must contact Spanish exchange agency for instructions.
It is easy to register most students from Spain in the classes they need to earn credit back home. Any time a question arises, the expert at the Spanish exchange agency is on standby to provide support and instructions.
Keep It Simple...
Some students from Spain arrive in the USA with high hopes of taking specific classes. Some students are worried about keeping up with classmates back home and "not missing" anything. Others are thinking about college and hoping to prepare. The bottom line? Students must only focus on one goal: adapting to your school as they seek to meet Spain's validation requirements. Period.
Look on the Bright Side!
Spain's validation requirements tend to motivate Spanish students to excel at school. This is good for schools and host families. But beyond those benefits, students from Spain have so much to offer. And who wouldn't love to have a friend in Spain?
If you would love to make a friend in Spain, you are invited to become a host family now!
