Frequently Asked Questions
Who can participate in Fun Writing?
For JETs: Anyone who is a current JET Program participant, living and working in Akita Prefecture.
For Students: Any student in Akita Prefecture, grade ES 5 to SHS 3, who has a JTE willing to register them.
Can I choose the students I write to?
No, but you can let us know how many students you want to write to and what grade levels you prefer. We'll try to accommodate any preferences you have!
Do I have to spend money? If so, how much?
No, the BOE will cover all postage/mailing expenses and offers a limited supply of free stationery. If you use your own stationery, you will have to pay for that yourself. On average, participants spend less than 1500 yen on stationery!
What happens if I'm late writing a response?
Ideally, responses should be sent to the BOE within a week of receiving your student's scanned letter. The BOE won't send a reminder email until 10-14 days have passed with no response. If 3 weeks pass with no response, the BOE will alert your student that you are busy, so replies will be slow, or reassign them to another teacher. Best practice is to give the BOE a heads-up when you think your response will be more than a week late!