Skip to content

International students bring in over $12 million to Delta School District

The Delta School District is making big, much-needed dollars from its successful International Student Program.
students
Revenue from Delta’s International Student Program grew from the $7 million range in 2014/2015 to about $12 million this school year.

The Delta School District is making big, much-needed dollars from its successful International Student Program.

Noting the program continues to make important contributions, both in terms of enriching classrooms with a global perspective and contributing to the ongoing financial stability of the district, International Student Program director Karen Symonds told the Optimist that for the 2018-2019 school year, students came from over 35 countries and brought in over $12 million. That represents more than a $7-million net contribution to the budget.

“Over the past five years the demographic has been shifting, with students from Europe and South America making up larger proportions than they had in the past. Currently, our top countries are China, South Korea, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Vietnam and Italy. Diversity is important for a healthy and strong program,” she explained.

“This year our numbers were up slightly from 2017-2018 with over 1,000 students representing 785 FTE students. Currently, it looks like we will be holding relatively stable for the 2019-2020 school year as well with similar numbers.” 

China continued to lead the way in international students this year with 460, but that is down from 524 in the 2015/2016 school year, while South Korea was second with 160 students, although that’s down 30 from the previous year. Students from Japan dropped from 98 three years ago to 61 this year.

Other countries, meanwhile, have seen student numbers steadily increasing, including Brazil, Germany and Italy, among others. There was just one student from Vietnam three years ago to 68 this year.

The district is looking to diversify even further, hoping to attract students from such nations as the Philippines and Turkey, while it will also have an “eye on India.”

Areas of caution include an increase in international schools within China, which means fewer students travelling overseas. There are also other factors, such as politics and economics, in China and elsewhere that might affect the flow of students, while an increase in competition from other school districts wanting a slice of the international student pie complicates matters. 

The program has grown significantly and steadily in Delta over the past number of years as there were 364 full-time students enrolled in 2012/2013.