Although international teacher education partnerships necessitate relationships with host education communities, much of the literature addresses only the impact of the overseas teaching experiences on the American university intern. For this project, we investigated the benefits of participation in an international teacher education program for the Italian cooperating teachers and students in the host schools. The findings reveal that the Tuscan students profited by not only enhancing their English communication skills, but also by beginning to develop global awareness and understanding of their learning. Cooperating teachers were challenged in mentoring American interns, but ultimately benefited professionally and wanted to strengthen the partnership. Implications for engaging host teachers and primary students when building international education partnerships are shared.