Mobile Welcomes German Students

Oct 16th, 2009

Al Stokes, Mayor Jones's Chief of Staff, and the Mobile City Council welcomed a group of fourteen students and their teacher as part of the German-American Partnership Program (GAPP). They are from the Goethe Gymnasium (Gurrte Gim nah sium) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

GAPP is an exchange program that focuses on cultural exchange through schools and families. There are more than 1600 German and American high schools participate in the program The Theodore-Goethe partnership is the oldest in Alabama. Theodore and Goethe were made partners because of our Degussa connection. Degussa is one of Theodore High’s corporate sponsors, and its headquarters were in Frankfurt until recently.

Theodore High School and the Goethe Gymnasium are celebrating their 20th year as partners. This is the 14th time that the schools have had exchanges. More than 200 students of the Goethe Gymnasium have come to Mobile in that time to enjoy our beautiful city and beaches and our hospitality. Nearly 100 students from Theodore High have gone to Germany to live for a month in Frankfurt and experience German culture.