Families Sought to Host Foreign Students

A student-exchange program is seeking families in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo and the Thousand Oaks area to take in students from Sweden and Italy for three weeks this summer.

The Boston-based Educational Homestay Programs wants to place 30 Swedish teen-agers with families in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park or Westlake from June 14 to July 5.

The agency also is seeking host families in Ventura, Camarillo or Oxnard for 20 Italian students who will be in the area from Aug. 2 through Aug. 23, said Cindy Cooke, executive director of the World Affairs Council of Ventura County.

Cooke, who is working with the exchange program, said host families can be single- or two-parent households, with or without children.

In addition to providing a place for the students to sleep, host families will be expected to provide breakfast and evening meals for the young people, who are all between 15 and 18 years old.

On weekdays, the students will attend classes from 9 a.m. to noon.

On weekends, they will be busy sightseeing and visiting Disneyland, Venice Beach and other tourist spots, Cooke said.

Host families will be able to join students on any of the weekend trips, she said.

Interested families may choose which students they want to host, using pictures and biographies available through the World Affairs Council, Cooke said.

For information, call Cooke at 648-1882.