Host a Guest Teacher
Sign up to become a Host Family, using this linked form.
Questions? Please email interns@mcdonaldpta.org
Calling all incredible McDonald International families! We need YOU as next year’s Guest Teacher host families!
Have you ever wondered about our Guest Teachers?
For several years our Guest Teacher’s visa sponsorship agency has provided our school with guest teachers who serve as models of language and culture. Our program runs solely on the support of the parents and families at McDonald International. Our PTA funds this program, but the most vital contribution you can make to this program is by hosting a teacher in your home during the school year. We rely on our host families to make the program run!
The teachers are recent college graduates from Japan or Spanish-speaking countries interested in education. They volunteer for a year to work with our teachers to help reduce class ratios, provide small group learning, and enrich the depth to which Spanish and Japanese are taught. Our ability as a parent organization to provide this direct contribution in the classroom is amazing. Please click here to sign up to become a Host Family!
Do you know someone in a Spanish-speaking country or Japan interested in applying to the program? They can apply through this website. More information for prospective guest teacher hosts is presented below.
What does it take to be a host?
A private bedroom for the Guest Teacher for 3-5 months (no private bathroom is required)
Breakfast and dinner during the school week and most meals on the weekends
If you're interested in hosting or you're just exploring the option, contact our Host Family Coordinator as soon as possible. You can also download the host family FAQ.
This is a great opportunity for your kids and family to get to know one of our wonderful interns better and learn about their culture and for your kids to practice Spanish or Japanese. It's also a chance for our interns to experience American life and practice their English.
You can also sign up to hang with the Immersion Interns! It's easy! Sign up to have dinner or do another activity with one or our fabulous guests. Contact our Host Family Coordinator.
What is the difference between an Immersion Instructional Assistant (Immersion IA) and a Guest Teacher?
Although they have sometimes been called upon to perform similar roles in our classrooms, Immersion IAs and Guest Teachers bring very different backgrounds and experience. They are also funded and hired differently.
Immersion IAs are experienced teachers
They're employed by the Seattle School District to assist the primary immersion teacher in Kindergarten and 1st grade class.
The PTA gives money to the School District to fully cover their salaries and related costs.
McDonald teachers and Principal all participate in the selection process.
These teachers are able to stay with the school long term, strengthening our program and providing stability.
Guest Teachers are teacher assistants
They come to us through international programs that give native language speakers the chance to teach abroad. They are assigned to assist the primary immersion teacher in 2nd – 5th grade class.
They generally come for just one year and then return to their countries of origin.
The PTA fully supports this program by paying for our J1-visa sponsor organization’s fees, monthly stipends, Orca cards, lunch stipends and ESL classes and provides room and board in the form of home-stays with McDonald families.
Host Family Testimonials
The Augustine Family
In the Fall/Winter of 2019, our family had the pleasure of hosting Ana, a guest teacher visiting from Valladolid, Spain. Ana’s warmth and humor quickly bonded her with our family. We had so much fun showing her around the Seattle area. Planning these short outings together was more simple than Dave and I had imagined, and we were inspired by the collective enthusiasm generated when sharing our favorite places with someone eager to explore. Ana was resourceful and found ways to connect with other Seattle guest teachers around the city as well. Dave and I had no idea what to expect as first time hosts, and to be honest, we were nervous about sharing ALL of our family moments, including the ugly ones, with a complete stranger. However, Ana came into the guest teacher program WANTING to live with a host family. She had lots of experience living with her own family and all that goes with it. Hosting Ana actually brought out the best in us, and we were each filled-up by our unique relationships with her. We came away with a wonderful shared experience, strengthening us as a family. We are forever grateful to Ana for sharing so much about herself, her family and her culture with us. We hope your family will consider hosting too.
The Leveck Family
We have really enjoyed hosting Waka over the last 3 months. She has a great spirit, easy going energy and quickly integrated into our family. We invited her to join us in family activities from overnight trips to simple walks to the park. Having her with us has been a great experience even though we don’t speak Japanese. Waka shared some of her favorite meals with us and taught us some Japanese words, and our little boys say goodnight to Waka every night they went to bed. Providing a home for a Guest Teacher was important to us as both Mark and I lived abroad in our 20s and know how crucial a happy and safe home life is as a foreigner. Sharing the most beautiful parts of our city with Waka is really fun too. We strongly encourage you to consider hosting a guest teacher!
The Hanson Family
We've really enjoyed hosting Jorge over the last five months. In addition to our little adventures around Seattle and the occasional Spanish conversation breaking out over the dinner table, we've been very fortunate to learn about Jorge's home town Segovia, Spain. Just recently Jorge celebrated his birthday, so we took him to his first teppanyaki/hibachi dinner at Hamanasu (formerly Benihana). It's not every day you get to see a volcano...of onions!
The Perry Family
There are so many compelling reasons to host a language intern, from the obvious benefits to the kids of extra language practice, to giving back to the McDonald community in a meaningful way, to learning about another culture. But one of the best parts of hosting for our family is getting the chance to introduce some of our favorite Northwest activities and sights to someone new. Julian arrived this past fall from Colombia having never seen snow in person. It was such a thrill to share in his excitement upon seeing his first snowflakes during a flurry in Seattle late last year. Even better was taking him up to Snoqualmie Summit for his first skiing experience. He spent a lot of that day sprawled on the ground with his skis pointing in different directions, but he also had a blast. Later, we took a ski trip together as a family to Idaho where he really started to get the hang of it. That drive to Sandpoint, crossing the snow-covered expanse of eastern Washington, was made much more interesting traveling with someone for whom it was all new. Between sleigh rides, snowball fights and the unique thrill of a Seattle snow day (complete with sledding in Lower Woodland Park and hot cocoa), we had a wonderful winter introducing Julian to the upside of all of our precipitation. Throughout it all, Julian’s sense of wonder and adventure helped the whole family to appreciate this beautiful place we call home even more.
The Sider Family
We are extraordinarily lucky to be hosting Natalia this year! She has become a true member of our family. Her love and affection for our daughters makes her like a sister to them. And for me, she is like a daughter, sister, and friend. We have all enriched our lives through this experience of welcoming Natalia into our home. We have had the pleasure of taking her to Vancouver BC, Leavenworth, ..etc.. She is so appreciative of the opportunity to be in our family, at McDonald International, and all the wonders that come with being in the United States. Her enthusiasm and gratitude for being here is contagious and endearing. We will miss her dearly when she goes back to Spain but we already have plans to visit her next summer. We love Natalia and are grateful for the chance to be her host family.