The toughest part of teaching a high school language arts class is getting students to be interested and get their work done. While this could be true for most high school classes, Gail Ellis, Hazen High School German teacher, finds this especially true in her classes.

One way Ellis, who goes by Frau Ellis in the classroom, tries to keep the material engaging is by inviting her students to participate in a German American Partnership Program, an exchange program that immerses students into German culture.

Every other year, Ellis takes anywhere from 16 to 22 students for a three-week journey to Germany. Apart from visiting the regular tourist attractions like museums and concentration camps, students stay with host families, attend school and immerse themselves in the culture.

What sets this trip apart from other exchange programs is the amount of relationships the students build over their three weeks, Ellis said.

“This is a home stay. This is a real exchange,” she said. “The kids come here for three weeks. And our kids go there for three weeks. And they are staying with families and seeing how people live and interacting in schools, they do presentations at schools. They get a better feel of the area they’re in… They’re actually making connections. It’s not just ‘let’s go look at the pretty building.’ It’s getting to know the people there. I really like that part of it.”

While students from Hazen go to Germany every other year, there has been enough interest from German students that they make a trip to Hazen every year. Currently, 14 students and two teachers are visiting the school.

Ellis was first introduced to the program by a teacher in Lindbergh. When she joined the staff at Hazen in 2000, she was thrilled to bring it to the school. Currently, Hazen is the only high school in the district that has German.

The trip leaves an impact on many of the students, said Ellis.

“I had the kids write an essay about an experience that meant a lot to you,” she said. “I was telling my son that a bunch of the kids wrote about the trip and that was exciting. And my son went, ‘Well mom, that experience changed my life. It completely changed the way I saw the world.’ I think it made him a stronger person.”

The trip not only fosters independence, but opens the world up for students who have never traveled before, she added.

“It gives them a stronger sense of independence, and seeing things differently and having to deal with things that they’re used to. It’s not going to a third world country, but there are still differences.”

For Ellis who’s been hosting German students and teachers for about 12 years, is gearing up to take her 9th batch of Hazen students to Germany in the summer. The experience has become an intimate part of her life.

“It’s been great for the kids, but it’s also been wonderful for me because we go to the same school all the time,” she said. “It’s almost like going to my school in Germany. I know so many of the teachers now and I’ve stayed with a lot of them too. I have really good relationships built up there.”