GSA seeks host families for foreign students

HomeStay program comes with monthly food stipend

Aug. 5, 2026

By John Boit

George Stevens Academy is looking for families who want to host a foreign student in their home for the upcoming school year.

Even before the school’s boarding program and dormitory shut down in 2024, and as early as the 1990s, local families welcomed students from foreign countries, inviting them to live with them and attend classes as part of the AFS Intercultural Program, according to the school.

The AFS program was originally established across the country by the American Field Service, which provided ambulance drivers in World War I and II. The American Field Service saw the exchange program as a way to prevent future armed conflicts between nations.

With the closure of its boarding program, GSA “has reignited their relationship with AFS” through its HomeStay program, says Chrissy Allen, GSA’s admissions director who also serves as the dean of Community Engagement and Advancement.

Last year, three of the six international students at GSA came through the AFS program from Germany, Italy, and Turkey. The school is hoping to find homes for three to six students this year from Italy and Germany.

The school offers a small stipend for food of approximately $100 per month to host families. Families may host up to two students from different countries, provided each has their own bed.

“Being a HomeStay host family is work, as you effectively have another child for the school year,” the school wrote in a recent community announcement. “However, talk to anyone who has done it in the past and they will tell you that it is an incredible experience and one not to be missed.” 

The HomeStay program is separate from the Student Refugee Program run by community members and three local churches in Blue Hill. That program has housed and hosted students from Afghanistan and Ukraine, raising money to cover their GSA tuition. Now that those students have graduated, that program is supporting them through college.

Visit GSA's websitefor more information on the HomeStay program.