The Summer Tour Exchange Program (STEP) is held at ACE Learning School every July and August. Students ages 10 to 17 from foreign countries are sent to Bellevue, Washington, United States of America, where TCEF provides the students with shelter, food, and short-term education.
The program is split into sessions. Each session lasts three weeks, and there are two sessions every summer. Each week there is five days of education (Monday-Friday) and one day of a touring activity (Saturday).
Classes throughout the weekdays include English (Phonics, Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing, Speaking, Reading), Culture Classes, America Geography, Computers, American History, Mathematics (Time, Money), and much more. Saturday activities include a museum tour, horsebackriding, aquarium tour, Mariners baseball game at Safeco Field, and more.
At the end of the session, there is a graduation ceremony and celebration of accomplishment for the Summer Tour Exchange Program completion. A graduation diploma is given to each student that completes the entire program. This program gives a chance to students from foreign countries to get a taste of what America is like and the culture of Americans.
During this program students have an opportunity to live in an American home with American culture. This could be a fully American home or an Asian American home. The family will provide the student food and shelter, and possibly transportation. This chance allows the foreign exchange student to be surrounded by an American environment and see what it is like to be American.
