Your One-Stop-Shop for Student Exchange
With almost 30 years of experience, ISE Ontario makes reciprocal student exchanges safe, organized, and seamless for students, families, and schools.
All participants depart from and return to Toronto Pearson, with predetermined airports in each destination country. ISE coordinates group travel, while families are responsible for attending the airport to collect their new family member and see them off on departure day.
ISE works closely with Ontario school boards and educators to support a smooth and educational exchange experience.
We’re here throughout the exchange to answer questions, provide guidance, and support students, families, and schools every step of the way.
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Receiving and processing student applications - our applications are very detailed as the more information collected, the more opportunity is created for an optimum match to be presented.
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Matching students with suitable applicants from abroad - matching is based on a multitude of factors and in collaboration with our European offices. Much time and effort is put in to the match being presented. As a family, you will always have the final approval.
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Screening families for suitability - this includes vulnerable sector screenings for all adults involved in the exchange. Our European offices follow the same procedures.
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Coordinating international group travel - including chaperones on most international flights. ISE pricing includes tickets and insurance. Travel is coordinated through group travel arrangements to predetermined final destination airports. Families in Europe and Canada agree to attend the arranged airport as a condition of participation. In Canada, exchanges begin and end at Toronto Pearson Airport.
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Ensuring that students are safe and well-looked after throughout the exchange experience. In addition to family prescreening requirements, participants and families are checked in on by both the Canadian and European offices during the exchange cycle. Emergency contact information is provided for the Canadian and European offices. We work in conjunction with our European partner offices, and both offices work collectively to support the exchange cycle.
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ISE Ontario is responsible for overseeing the hosting period in Ontario and organizing the period away for Ontario students. We work in conjunction with our European partner offices, both offices work collectively to support the exchange cycle. As an ISE family our office will remain your main point of contact.
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Providing students and families with support and a point of contact should issues arise. Providing schools with support and a point of contact for any questions or concerns. With our years of experience, we often can course-correct with the support of the families involved.
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Providing students and schools with the necessary insurance coverage.
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Helping to ensure participating students are following school policies, procedures, and protocols . Acting as a liaison point between schools, boards and participating students.
Our Team
Retired Director of Education , Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board
Brian Beal is a retired Director of Education with Simcoe Muskoka Catholic. He has always been passionate about helping students realize they are part of a global family through educational travel. He is honoured to serve as Chair of the ISE board and to help students grow in confidence and experience through outstanding international student exchange experiences.
Chair of the Board: Brian Beal
Retired Superintendent of Education, Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board
The travel bug bit me very young, and I continue to have that desire. Having been a teacher for many years, I quickly realized how important an international exchange can be. Not only does it result in lifelong friendships, but it makes our world smaller, creating an appreciation of the history and lifestyles of other cultures.
Past Chair of the Board: David Fox
Retired Director of Education, Bluewater District School Board
For two decades, I've experienced the satisfaction of knowing that my work with dedicated ISE colleagues has created life-changing experiences for students who participate in international exchanges. I've seen firsthand how participants learn about themselves while becoming global citizens.
Vice Chair of the Board: Mary Anne Alton
Retired Coordinating Superintendent of Education, York Region District School Board
Bob Harper has served on the ISE Board of Directors since 2009 and has served as our Treasurer since 2014. Bob’s enthusiasm for student exchanges comes from his work as a teacher, principal and senior supervisory officer with a large Ontario school board. In work settings, spanning 25 years, Bob saw the extraordinary benefits of student reciprocal exchanges. Students live and learn in immersion settings and likewise host their student partners here in Ontario. Many student exchange partners form lifelong friendships.
Treasurer: Bob Harper
Principal, Upper Grand District School Board
I serve on the ISE Board of Directors to ensure students have access to experiential and transformational educational opportunities. Having organized and led international trips with high school students in the past to Europe, I know firsthand how impactful these cultural experiences are for students, and how they have the power to transform students’ lives and futures.
Board Director: Brent Bloch
Retired Director of Education, York Catholic District School Board
As an educator for over 41 years, experiential learning through travel has been a central focus of my vocation. I have witnessed the life-changing benefits that students experience when they include a travel component in their studies. International Student Exchange(ISE) is the carrier that affords our students that opportunity. I am proud to be on the board of directors to support this initiative.
Board Director: Anna Faraone
M.Ed., Superintendent of Education, Avon Maitland District School Board
Having served as an educator in diverse Ontario school boards over 30 years, it has been my privilege to promote cultural exchanges for students through ISE. First, as an elementary and secondary French teacher and later, as a principal and superintendent, I continue to encourage students to participate in these enriching experiences where they learn about themselves and their place in the world, immersed in different language, and where friendships are made that last well into adulthood.
Board Director: Domenic Scuglia
M.A., Former FSL Resource Teacher, Current Special Education Teacher, Toronto Catholic District School Board
As an educator for over 40 years, I have promoted ISE exchanges in all of my various roles: FSL and International Languages classroom teacher, Moderns Department Head, Pre-service Teacher Education Instructor at OISE/UT and FSL Resource Teacher. An exchange abroad offers both students and teachers an unparalleled opportunity for personal and linguistic growth, transforming their educational journey in profound ways. What a gift to be working in the field of experiential education to empower students to develop a stronger sense of self while cultivating global awareness!
Board Director: Laura Marotta
Board Director: Mary Jean Gallagher
Retired Assistant Deputy Minister of Education, Past Director, Greater Essex County District School Board
Dr. Mary Jean Gallagher is an education consultant and educator with a lifelong passion for giving students outstanding opportunities to learn – about themselves, their futures and their world. She has supported student exchange opportunities for over four decades. As a member of the board and an experienced host parent to students from around the world, she understands that high quality international student experiences expand the horizons of possibilities for our young people.
Executive Director - Mary Di Santo
I am honoured to work with ISE, its esteemed board members, administrative team, school boards, participants, and their families. I have witnessed firsthand the profound impact of our work on participating students, their support network, and their home and school communities. The greatest gift is receiving testimony from past participants about the life-changing experience our exchanges provided and their desire to support our programming. It is a privilege to have a career promoting youth development while shaping the next generation of global citizens
