Full-circle exchange: PJMS, PHS welcome Saroma students to Palmer

In June, a group of Palmer Junior Middle School and Palmer High School students spent time in Saroma, Japan, as part of the Sister City exchange program. This week, the students from the host families in Saroma are now in Palmer on an exchange trip of their own.

“Those same (Palmer) students are now hosting the kids where they stayed. It’s like a full-circle thing,” Palmer High Japanese teacher and exchange coordinator Carla Swick said.

The Saroma students kicked off their two-week stay in Palmer Sept. 14 with a welcome assembly hosted by Palmer Junior Middle School. Students from both the Saroma and Palmer delegations were introduced.

“It's something that's really close to my heart because of just the cultural exchange piece of it, actually being able to get to know a culture that's so different from our own and to be able to build those friendships and relationships,” PJMS teacher and exchange coordinator Lizzie Parsons said.

Parsons started as a coordinator in the program in 2024 and made her first trip to Saroma in 2025 as a chaperone. PJMS became an official part of the sister city program in 2003 when Parsons was in sixth grade at the school. Swick, a longtime supporter of the program, said Palmer High became an official part of the exchange program in 1990. Palmer and Saroma were established as sister cities in 1980.

There are five middle school and two high school students who are a part of the current two-week stay. A third high school student is spending the entire school year in Palmer. Becoming a part of the exchange program, Swick said, is so much more than a vacation.

“You can travel to different countries, but I think the beauty of this is you get to go to school, you get to live with a host family. You get to become part of the community and really get a taste of what it's like to go to school and live in Alaska,” Swick said.

The stay has and will include a variety of activities for students in both delegations. In the past week, the Saroma students, along with their Palmer peers, visited the Musk Ox Farm, Palmer City Hall, and the Palmer Police and fire stations. They were able to shop in Downtown Palmer and get pizza at the Palmer Alehouse. Friday night, they were in the stands for the Palmer-West Valley football game. The students will also visit Sherrod and Swanson elementary schools. Organizers have planned a field trip to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Portage Glacier, and also Alaska Wildberry Products in Anchorage.

Swick said they try to make the experiences very interactive for the Saroma kids.

When not out and about, the Saroma students spend days in the Palmer high and middle classrooms.

“My favorite moment so far is actually the daily life that they get to experience with us,” Parsons said. “They get to live with these host families and experience actual Alaskan, American life. They also show up at our schools and experience an actual schedule of your typical Palmer Middle students or Palmer High students. Being able to see how open the Palmer kids are to accepting the Saroma kids is really inspirational.”

The Saroma students are here until Sept. 24, when PJMS will host a farewell potluck before the students leave for the airport.

Palmer students interested in participating in the 2027 Saroma exchange program can apply in October. The application process includes an essay and an interview. The new delegation is typically chosen in mid-October.

Video by Brian Mead

Jeremiah Bartz is the community relations coordinator for the Mat-Su Borough School District.