PHS sends exchange group to Germany

Posted July 13, 2026

Twelve Plymouth High School students recently reciprocated an exchange with their sister school in Germany, part of on-going effort that soon will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

This was the eighth exchange with Kurt Schumacher Schule. Plymouth generally hosts the Germans every other fall and visits Germany the following summer.

Trip to Germany

The PHS trip to Germany from June 4 to 22 centered around five days at Kurt Schumacher Schule in Karben.

“The students represented PHS beautifully and were great at presenting to students in grades 5-12,” said teacher Jessica Barrington, who chaperoned the trip with Laura Koebel and Sandy Nicholson. “We also had three lovely weekends with our host families.”

The Plymouth contingent visited the Dachau Concentration Camp and Neuschwanstein Castle, and took a bike tour focused on the history of Munich. They also spent a night in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where they toured the city, visited the Medieval Crime and Torture Museum, and participated in a Night Watchman's Tour.

German visitors

In September 2025, PHS hosted 20 students and two teachers from Germany. Visitors stayed with host families and gave presentations in PHS classrooms about their education system, traditions, fun facts, and other topics of interest to teenagers.

They visited the Plymouth Cheese Counter, Plymouth Historical Society Museum, and Henschel’s Indian Museum, and toured the Wisconsin State Capitol and UW-Madison campus. After they left Plymouth, they spent two nights in Chicago, where they toured museums and the Hancock Building.

Next exchange

Trips planned for 2027-28 will mark the 20th anniversary of the exchange, started by Ms. Barrington and Ms. Nicholson during the 2007-08 school year. Students and families interested in hosting a German student in the fall of 2027 can reach out to Ms. Koebel or Ms. Barrington, with the exchange to Germany set for summer 2028.

Participating in an exchange offers incredible benefits, Ms. Barrington said. “Students not only create lasting relationships with other teens from a different country, but they also gain understanding of the world as a whole, helping to prepare them to be global citizens,” she said. “We hope that this inspires students to continue to travel and establish friendships with others to better understand the cultures and also to find out just how much we have in common!”