Now in its eighteenth year, the Future Leaders Exchange Program  (FLEX) provides the opportunity for Georgian secondary school students in the 9 th , 10 th , and 11 th grades to study at an American high school and to live with an American host family. The program will offer approximately 50 scholarships to secondary school students from Georgia for the 2010-2011 academic year. Scholarship recipients will be provided with round trip travel from their home to the United States and back, and an allowance for living expenses. While in the US , Georgian students will have the opportunity to share their culture. They will learn about the United States firsthand by participating in family life, school study, and extracurricular activities. Recipients of FLEX scholarships are selected by an independent panel of experienced educators in the United States on the basis of merit demonstrated in application materials. Merit is determined by evaluating the written application, recommendations, English language proficiency, and an applicant's demonstrated preparedness for a yearlong exchange experience. We invite all students to participate in the Fall 2009 competition who: are presently studying in the 9th, 10th , and 11th grades; were born in the period between January 1, 1993 to July 15, 1995; have not lived in the United States for more than three months in the last five years and speak English well.

This program is open to all high school students who meet requirements of the program including students with disabilities. Over 210 disabled students have already studied in the US on this program. Representatives of American Councils will visit many regional centers, to conduct testing in the fall of 2009. All eligible students are invited to take part in the first of three rounds. They must bring proof of eligibility (their original birth certificate), one recent photograph (3x4 cm). Students who pass Round One (a short English test) will be invited to Round Two, a comprehensive English test and written essay. Only applicants who pass Round Two will receive application materials and will be interviewed. For more information, please contact the Programs Coordinator, Tamila Vatcharadze at American Councils, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Every year our students successfully take part in Flex which is sponsored by American Council. This tradition was continued this year too and our student from the 10th forms Nia Khachapuridze will study in the USA for one year. Our congratulations to her!

In the previous years the following students won in Flex:

Tamar Butskhrikidze 2008

Irakli Baiadze 2007

Nino Gorgadze 2006

Lasha Nairashvili 2004