
About Us
American Pals is an intra-national pen pal project with a simple goal: to enable students to get to know their own country and fellow citizens better.
We're not trying to turn back the clock to a pre-digital age. We're helping students rediscover a powerful form of communication and relationship-building different from what they’ve grown up with in the era of social media and texting.
American Pals provides a safe way for students to learn about people from areas very different from their own.
Daily life in the San Francisco Bay Area can look quite different from daily life in Evansville, Indiana, and we think it would be great if kids could learn about these differences and similarities directly from each other.
We may be more digitally "connected" with each other than ever, but sometimes it feels like we're living in separate worlds and don't know much about the experiences of people outside our own communities. We're committed to the belief that for all our differences, we have a lot in common, especially kids. The best way to get to know each other is by talking and listening - and not the kind of "talking" that often takes place online.
Why Letters?
Many kids raised in today's digital age have never written or received a handwritten letter. We think they should have the opportunity to experience this timeless form of communication.
Here are a couple reasons why:

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Battle Ground Academy (Franklin, Tennessee)
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Summerville Middle School (Summerville, Georgia)
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Leadership High School (San Francisco, California)
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Prospect Sierra (El Cerrito, California)
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Brownell Talbot School (Omaha, Nebraska)
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Landrum High (Campobello, South Carolina)
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Valley Middle School (House Springs, Missouri)
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Episcopal Collegiate School (Little Rock, Arkansas)
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Pau Wa Lu Middle School (Gardnerville, Nevada)
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Head-Royce School (Oakland, California)
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Thayer Academy (Braintree, Massachusetts)
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Greenbrier High School (Evans, Georgia)
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Northwestern High School (Rock Hill, South Carolina)
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Eastside College Preparatory School (East Palo Alto, California)
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St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School (Houma, Louisiana)
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The Bentley School (Oakland, California)
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Jim Hill Middle School, (Minot, North Dakota)
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Birchtree Charter School (Palmer, Alaska)
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St. Louis Park High (St. Louis Park, Minnesota)
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Black Pine Circle School (Berkeley, California)
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Wilmington Middle School, (Wilmington, Ohio)
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The Independent School (Wichita, Kansas)
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El Segundo High School (El Segundo, California)
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McMinn County High School (Athens, Tennessee)
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Nathan Hale High School (Seattle, Washington)
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Aragon High School (San Mateo, California)
Participating Schools
Some of the schools currently participating with American Pals:
“You never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of view.”
- Atticus Finch