Japanese Students Visit Des Moines Schools

Twenty-four Japanese students and three chaperones are spending the week learning about Des Moines Public Schools and Iowa culture.

The students arrived in Des Moines from Kofu, Japan, over the weekend for the annual Kofu and Des Moines Student Exchange.  Thirteen Des Moines students visited Kofu in June.

This week, the Kofu students were welcomed with a party at Colby Park and they spent a day at Moulton Extended Learning Center dancing for the students and teaching them Origami. Tuesday, they visited the Wildwood Hills ranch.

Today, the students will see Living History Farms and Thursday, they are scheduled to perform at the Iowa State Fair.

The Kofu and Des Moines student exchange has been around for decades. The first students visited Des Moines in 1982 and the Des Moines students traveled to Japan the following spring in 1983.  This year marks year 32 of the exchange.

The exchange is open to all DMPS students.  Students wishing to apply for the 2016 Exchange should look for the application to come out in November.