Leader FAQ

Xperitas Immersion Programs are designed for teachers and their students with specific educational goals in mind. All participants on our published language programs are expected to speak the target language while traveling in order to fully realize the goal of linguistic and cultural immersion. For this reason, family members and children who do not speak the target language are not eligible for travel on our published programs.

Family members and children are allowed to travel on custom programs. However, it is vital that you discuss this with your Xperitas program manager and school administration.

While Xperitas cannot guarantee a host family for every teacher, we certainly make every effort to accommodate requests by teachers to stay with a host family instead of in a hotel during the family stay.

• Published Programs: The published program price covers the cost of one teacher/leader for every six participants. If a leader on a published program has fewer than six students, Xperitas calculates a pro-rated price based on the number of students. Example: Three students would entail a pro-rata of 3/6 or 1/2 of the total program price.
• Custom Programs: Often the leader costs are completely covered by the students. The organizing teacher decides how many leaders will travel.

If you travel with a minimum of six students (per leader), the following program costs are covered: airfare, transportation, hotel accommodations, breakfast and other meals as noted on the itinerary.

You will also receive:

• An entry fee and public transit allowance to cover leader and student entrance fees and public transit costs (please note that depending on destination and included transportation and activities, not all programs include these payouts)
• A leader stipend to offset costs such as meals and incidentals

Please note that if the group does not travel for whatever reason, all allowances and stipends must be returned to Xperitas.

If you have fewer than six students (per leader), a leader price will be pro-rated based on the total student cost for your program. For example, a teacher traveling with four students would have a pro-rated price of 2/6 or 1/3 of the final student price. Leaders who have a pro-rated price may make payments online with a credit card; full payment is due at the same time as the students’ final payment.

If you choose to travel on your own when not on-call during the family stay, your personal travel costs would be your responsibility. In addition, if you choose to depart earlier or return later than the group, you are responsible for any additional costs. Please discuss this with your program manager.

Leaders are accommodated in twin/double rooms while traveling and during the family stay. Single-room accommodation costs vary by destination and itinerary and can only be accommodated based on availability. Please contact your Xperitas program manager for more details.

Yes! Depending on the length of your private family stay arrangements, we can either include it in a published program or tailor a custom program around your family stay.

Students and/or parents must notify Xperitas directly in writing for voluntary cancellations (cancel@xperitas.org). Xperitas will not accept verbal cancellation notifications or notifications from teachers or leaders unless the cancellation is due to disciplinary issues.

Xperitas allows “involuntary cancellations” by the teacher/leader if the student fails to abide by the standards set by the teacher and/or school, or if the student/parent does not disclose a significant medical condition that may affect the student’s travel experience. Standard cancellation fees will be assessed. Please call your Xperitas program manager to discuss this in more detail.

The organizing teacher/group leader creates an itinerary with the Xperitas program manager and can determine what leader costs to include. Custom programs often include:

• A leader stipend to offset costs such as meals and incidentals
• An entry fee and public transit allowance to cover leader and student entrance fees and public transit costs
• A meal allowance if the group leaders wish to help students budget money for meals not included in the itinerary

Please note that if the group does not travel for whatever reason, all allowances and stipends must be returned to Xperitas.

If you choose to travel on your own when not on-call during the family stay, your personal travel costs would be your responsibility. Likewise, if you choose to depart earlier or return later than the group, you are responsible for the additional costs.

A participant or teacher may request an early departure or late return on their program. Eligibility for this depends on the airline’s group contract stipulations, and you will be responsible for any additional costs incurred. An adult is required to accompany the students both to and from the destination, and we suggest you let your school and families know your plan. Please discuss this with your Xperitas program manager.

Xperitas is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting global citizenship through authentic immersion experiences. Founded in 1972 by world language teachers and enriched by decades of shared experience of Intercultural Student Experiences and Global Citizens Network, Xperitas offers programs that embody true cultural immersion, inspire personal connections with diverse individuals and communities worldwide and provide transformational experiences for our participants.

• Customized Experiences: Each program is tailored specifically for your group and goals.
• Immersive Learning: Language and culture come alive through authentic community engagement and our Family Stay Experience®.
• Strategic, Centralized Itineraries: More learning, less transit. We design walkable, focused experiences to maximize every day.
• Small, Intentional Groups: Designed for deeper engagement and meaningful cultural exchanges.
• Expert Support from Start to Finish: Dedicated Program Management from conception to return, with one consistent contact and 24/7 support while abroad.

• Published Programs: Any elementary, middle, or high school student traveling with their language, science, history, or art teacher.
• Custom programs: The organizing teacher/group leader determines eligibility for their group. If the custom program includes an Xperitas family stay, language ability is required. Please discuss this with the Xperitas program manager for your program.
• Published Language Programs with a Family Stay Experience®: World language students in middle school or high school and their world language teachers.
• Spring Programs: Students must be in second semester of Level 2 at the time of travel.
• Summer, Fall and Winter Programs: Students must have completed at least Level 2 at the time of travel.

Teachers are almost exclusively the leaders on Xperitas programs in order to ensure that the educational goals of the program are met. The leader or co-leader must be at least 22 years old. For a language program, the leader or co-leader must also be highly proficient or fluent in the language of the destination country to effectively uphold the language immersion requirement.

Xperitas’ high expectations for the behavior of the students on our programs help us maintain the integrity and educational quality of our programs. Xperitas expects students and teachers to conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to being a good ambassador. Students and teachers who cannot follow the Code of Conduct should not travel with Xperitas.

As a nonprofit organization, Xperitas’ foremost goal is to achieve our mission rather than to generate a profit. Any surplus revenue produced is reinvested into programs that support the mission rather than distributed among shareholders or owners. Nonprofits are granted tax-exempt status by the IRS, which means Xperitas must also adhere to laws governing nonprofit organizations on matters such as transparency and accountability.

There are numerous benefits of traveling abroad! Among them are:

• Increased level of language proficiency.
• More job opportunities. Employers consider fluency in several languages to be a highly desirable skill.
• Cultural immersion can lead to a greater appreciation of one’s own culture and a broader world perspective, as well as improved self-esteem and confidence after partaking in an immersion experience.
• The development of global competency and critical thinking skills. The Xperitas experience is only the first step on a lifelong journey to develop these skills, which are in high demand across many industries.
• The Xperitas program fosters a personal connection to the larger world that may open many doors in the future. Once on the path to international learning, students often discover new options and new possibilities for their lives. Additionally, parents consistently tell us the Xperitas program helped their child develop independent thinking and living skills, which helped prepare them to go away for college.
• Make new friends and gain exposure to new outlooks on life by living with the local culture.

Our programs are designed to provide a language and cultural immersion experience. To this end, the group leaders and guides carry out daily activities in the target language, and the volunteer host families are expected to speak to Xperitas participants in their native language. Thus, a minimum level of language skills is required for the participant to fully partake in these activities and interactions.

Xperitas does combine school groups on our published itineraries to meet minimum group size requirements. Consult the itinerary or your Xperitas program manager for more information.

Group leaders work with Xperitas to determine the consequences for discipline issues while abroad. The decision to send a student home is made by the group leaders (teachers) and supported by Xperitas. A student who breaks the Code of Conduct may be returned to the U.S. at the parents’ expense. By signing the program application, parents/guardians agree to bear the cost of all expenses related to a student’s return to the U.S. and acknowledge that they forfeit all monies paid. View the Code of Conduct here.