October 1, 2018—On Sunday, September 30 a group from Shaker Heights High School and RG Goslar celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Goslar exchange. More than 150 Goslar alumni and their families, City Councilwoman Nancy Moore and current and former exchange teachers-along with Shaker Heights High School principal Jonathan Kuehnle and RG Goslar principal Hans Peter Dress, who traveled to Shaker from Germany just for the event-attended. Shaker's exchange with Goslar is the longest-standing exchange between a U.S. school and a German school. 

 

"This exchange is so special because the students live with their host families for almost three weeks—sometimes for a semester—and they end up making lifelong friends. In the past few years we have now seen several of the children of former Goslar exchange students follow in their parents’ footsteps, sometimes staying with the same families as their parents had. It’s a program that focuses on the human connections and the daily experiences of living abroad," says German teacher Keith Szalay. 

 

In fact, the trip has been so meaningful to students who have traveled to Goslar that each year, the students host a community event fundraiser and have created an independent scholarship fund with the Shaker Schools Foundation. Funds from the scholarship ensure that all students who wish to attend can, regardless of financial circumstances.