Lënster Lycée International School (Junglinster) students and teachers visit Belgium, Wisconsin (US), August 2023; Credit: Marc Zimer

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Marc Zimer, a teacher at Lënster Lycée International School in Junglinster and board member of Roots and Leaves, about a student exchange programme he initiated between Luxembourg and communities in the United States with Luxembourgish heritage.

Marc Zimer traced the origins of the initiative back to a 2017 family road trip around Lake Michigan in the US. During the trip, he visited the Luxembourg American Cultural Society's (LACS) Roots and Leaves Museum in Belgium, Wisconsin. Seeing an opportunity to better connect the past with the present, he came up with the idea of student exchanges linking Luxembourg and regions with historic Luxembourgish communities in the US.

He first reached out to US contacts in early 2018 and launched a successful partnership with Aquinas High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin, later that year. A second La Crosse school, Central High School, soon joined the programme, and La Crosse and Junglinster (Luxembourg) are now sister cities. The exchange programme has since grown to include about a dozen secondary schools in Luxembourg and their partner schools in the US.

The participating schools are:

  • Lënster Lycée International School (LU) paired with Aquinas High School and Central High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin and Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona (US)
  • Maacher Lycée Grevenmacher (LU) paired with Random Lake High School and Cedar Grove-Belgium High School in Wisconsin (US)
  • Schengen-Lyzeum Perl (LU/DE) paired with Sheboygan South High School in Wisconsin (US)
  • Lycée Edward Steichen Clervaux (LU) paired with Sheboygan North High School in Wisconsin (US)
  • Lycée Classique de Diekirch (LU) paired with Vernon Hills High School in Chicago, Illinois (US)
  • Attert-Lycée Redange (LU) paired with Remsen in Iowa (US)
  • Lycée Nic-Biever Dudelange (LU) paired with Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa (US)
  • Lycée Bel-Val (LU) paired with Port Washington, Wisconsin (US)
  • Ecole Privée Fieldgen (LU) paired with Cotter High School in Winona, Minnesota (US)
  • École Privée Sainte-Anne (LU) paired with Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Lycée du Nord Wiltz (LU) paired with Bellevue in Iowa

There are also connections with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

The first exchange trip took place in 2023, with more scheduled annually - six schools are participating in 2025. Marc Zimer helps facilitate the exchanges but emphasised that schools largely manage their own programmes.

The programme's structure includes a practical orientation where Marc Zimer explains how it works to new schools, plus monthly Zoom meetings allowing participating students (aged sixteen to eighteen) to interact in small groups and begin collaborative projects.

In terms of costs, the programme receives funding from the Oeuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte in Luxembourg, which covers flights. Sponsorship can help cover hotel costs and other expenses, although students typically stay with host families. This "once-in-a-lifetime trip" costs approximately €400 to €600.

For Marc Zimer, the exchange programme is fundamentally about "building bridges" and strengthening historic US-Luxembourg ties. He said he had received positive feedback so far.

Beyond exchanges, Marc Zimer is involved in developing a cultural heritage trail in Chicago, in collaboration with Loyola University. The project is a work in progress, aiming for completion by next summer.

Marc Zimer also noted that LACS organises trips to Luxembourg twice a year, allowing individuals to obtain or renew their Luxembourg passports while enjoying sightseeing in the country. Its sister organisation, Roots and Leaves, helps coordinate the programme and schedule passport office appointments.

Currently, a group of 30 visitors from the US is in Luxembourg until Tuesday 24 June 2025. On Tuesday 17 June 2025, the group joined visitors from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (twelve students plus two teachers) and school groups visiting Maacher Lycée in Grevenmacher (Random Lake and Cedar Grove-Belgium).