People to People International's School and Classroom Program is a free service that connects teachers and their students with classes in other countries for pen pal exchanges and projects that improve cultural understanding and encourage friendship. Classes are matched according to similar age and number of pupils to form partnerships. Students interact by exchanging traditional paper letters or email messages supervised by their teacher, who receives a program manual for guidance. Teachers may form partnerships with classes in multiple countries and work together for one or more school years.

Primary, middle and secondary-school classes and youth groups (grades kindergarten-12) from all countries are welcome. To join, we ask teachers or adults, who supervise students, to register. Registration is open during July - October. Registrations submitted before or after this time will be held for the following semester or school year. We will contact you to discuss options.

Register here or contact classroom@ptpi.org.

Please read before registering:

We match classes as quickly as possible. The process depends on availability of classes in your students’ age range in the countries that you have selected on the registration form. Choosing “no preference” for country choice often quickens the matching process versus selecting specific countries. Frequently we can seek classes if they are not immediately available. If we do not have contact with schools in a requested country, then we will email you to discuss alternatives.

When considering country choice, please note that the school year differs between the northern and southern hemispheres, and that in many countries, most notably those in Asia, English is often not taught until middle or secondary-school. Also, partner classes from popular countries, such as China, Egypt, Italy and Mexico, are limited due to the high demand for them.

Teachers, who are registering for the first time, may request a maximum of three partner classes; more may be added after the initial partnerships are successfully established.

On the registration form, please provide details only about your classes that want partner classes.

Please complete all fields on the registration form; leaving some blank can lengthen the process because then we must contact you to complete your registration.