Advice for attending school trips

While it’s hard to dispute the educational value of field trips, the logistical challenges of out-of-classroom excursions are enough to make even savvy educators cringe. But don’t let the challenges stop you from hitting the road with your students. These tips and tricks can make field trips more enjoyable (and educational!) for everyone.

    

Start early:

It can take weeks to receive all the necessary approvals for a field trip. You need administrative approval and transportation. You need time to collect money—and time to submit that money so your school can cut a check. Begin planning your field trip at least six weeks in advance of your departure date. The bigger the trip, the bigger your head start needs to be. Overnight, out-of-state, or overseas trips may need to be planned a whole year in advance.

Think small:

contained, and low-key, says Wendy Weiner, founder and principal of Conservatory Prep Senior High, a 7–12 school located in Davie, Florida. Trips to large, public places and those that mix students from several schools offer a multitude of distractions and potential pitfalls. Small-group activities keep kids engaged and busy. Ask a local Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or 4-H club for assistance. These groups regularly plan kid-friendly outings around merit ­badges or other learning activities, and the places that cater to these clubs (such as camps and museums) are ideal for school groups.

Look for action:

Kids love to be hands-on. And the best field trips give students a chance to touch, feel, and try something new. “My students love the Indian Festival [and Pow-Wow] at Stone Mountain,” says Jennifer Benn field, a sixth-grade teacher and field trip coordinator at Kendrick Middle School in Jonesboro, Georgia. "The Native Americans put on demonstrations, show the kids different tools and rituals, and the kids have a chance to buy artefacts and tools.”

Keep costs down by planning the trip yourself. Timing your trip for off-season may also help lower costs. If you’re traveling out of state, find out if you qualify for tax-exempt status in that state. In addition, fundraisers can help defray costs, and consider having families pay in installments, rather than requiring a lump-sum payment. Also, don’t be afraid to seek outside support. “If a student can’t go due to financial need, we start hunting money down,” says Traci McKee, an eighth-grade teacher at Ker mode Middle School in Greensboro, North Carolina. Consider asking private donors and local companies for support.

Pr-screen the site:

If possible, visit your proposed site before scheduling a trip. Pay attention to the environment. Is there anything that might upset your students? Having that information in advance will help you create ­contingency plans. Find out if the site can accommodate students with special needs. “I highly recommend notifying the establishment of any medical needs or allergies,” says Lisa Kemp, a seventh-grade special education teacher who has travelled with People to People Ambassador Programs.

Go to the right source:

When McKee and Rebecca Furrow, a fellow eighth-grade teacher at Ker mode Middle School, wanted to take a group of students to Disney World, they started making phone calls. “We’d done field trips in the past, but nothing to this extent or distance,” Furrow says. They contacted the Disney Youth Education Series, which connected them with specialists who helped them plan and schedule their lodging, financing, and activities.

      

Prep students and parents:

“The most important thing you can do to make a field trip a successful experience is to educate kids about where they’re going, what they can expect, and what the expectations are for them,” Kemp says.

Discuss the trip, showing students online pictures or videos. Talk through common situations: You’ll probably get excited when we get to the museum, but keep your hands to yourself. Stay with the group.

Make sure kids know what they are expected to do as well. If they’ll be looking for answers to questions or doing a scavenger hunt, hand out questions and lists in advance.

If parents are chaperoning, be clear about expectations. “I give parents tasks,” says Otis Krieger, author of Everything a New Elementary School Teacher Really Needs to Know (But Didn’t Learn in College). “Can you contact the place where we’re going? Can you carry snacks? If a parent has a skill that’s related to the trip, I’ll invite them along and have them talk to the class before we go.” Also, have parent chaperones refer all discipline problems to you or another teacher.

Bring emergency info:

 Accidents happen. Kriegel prints a list of emergency contacts and medical info, and brings it along. “That way, if something happens, I don’t need to call the school to get information,” he says.

Keeps it moving

 “We have learned that the busier we keep our students, the less trouble they get into,” McKee says. Divide students into manageable groups, and make sure each group has adequate adult supervision. Then have the groups rotate through certain exhibits or activities. The constant motion will keep your students occupied—and out of trouble!

Use travel time wisely:

 “I don’t believe in kids sitting on the bus or subway and doing nothing,” Krieger says. “I have all my students bring a journal, a pencil, and a book. It gives them something to do and it lays the groundwork for behaviour in public.”

Educational Value

As a class teacher and Educational Visits Coordinator, one of the first things you need to do is justify the trip in terms of educational value. A day, half day or week out of the classroom is going to cost time and money, so it has to have an educational benefit to the children you are planning to take. Your planning should be aimed at getting the school trip proposal passed by your head teacher.

Consult the school policy and Local Education Authority guidelines for school outings. You may well find there is already a set procedure you need to work to. This should also help you research everything you need to get that head teacher to nod in approval.

Before the trip, you will need to liaise with the people at the place you are intending to visit, to make sure that they understood what you require and to check whether they can help deliver the learning experience you need for your class. They often have information for you to be aware of, and sometimes forms you will need to sign. Most of the better school trip venues will offer free inspection visits. A lot of venues these days have websites that give virtual tours, show lots of photographs, and describe what they do really well, but you may need to see a venue with your own eyes to know whether or not it is suitable for your trip.

Once you know where you are going, and what you are planning to do when you get there, you need to make notes, both for the guides or helpers, and for the children. Again, the best school trip venues will have worked with many school groups before yours. They will probably have a dedicated educational officer, and quite possibly the kinds of study materials that will help you plan your lessons.

Keeping your School Group Healthy When You Travel

International travel is the highlight of the school year for many lucky students. Whether it is a summer trip, volunteering or an educational experience, trips abroad can be the most memorable of a student’s academic life. And while it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of travelling someplace new, it is important to have a plan in place to keep your school group healthy and safe when travelling.

Safety Advice and Health Tips for School Groups

Pack smart: Be sure to familiarize yourself with the weather of the country you are traveling to prior to departing for the trip. Students should be supplied with a packing list outlining mandatory items as well as what not to bring and what they definitely should bring i.e., if your group is travelling to a hot climate, be sure everyone packs sunscreen to avoid sunburns and if your group is travelling to an extremely cold destination make sure everyone packs gloves and a hat to avoid frostbite.

Make sure vaccinations are up to date: In addition to making sure all vaccinations are up to date, everyone travelling should also inquire about any new vaccinations that may be needed for that specific country. Some countries require visitors carry proof of certain inoculations. Ensure you have the documentation necessary so that if a student falls ill you will not be turned away at a hospital due to incomplete or missing information. 

Implement a travel buddy system: Have each student be accountable for another student. They can work together, eat together, and do certain activities together. When group attendance or roll call is being taken the buddies can look for one another and then if someone is missing their buddy may know more about their whereabouts. If an accident occurs in which someone is injured, one travel buddy may be able to communicate what happened at the time of the accident if the other cannot.

Carry a first aid kit: It seems simple enough, but when travelling abroad knowing where to find a bandage may not be as simple as stopping into a local pharmacy. Carrying a first aid kit with you at all times means you have basic medical supplies available to your group at all times. Luckily, first aid kits come in many sizes, including travel sizes. You can even encourage each student to carry a travel size first aid kit with them at all times and pack one as part of their mandatory items.

Make a note of allergies and ask questions: Make sure all staff, parents, and volunteers who are travelling with your school group are aware of each student’s medical needs, especially pertaining to allergies. Ensure students with terminal allergic reactions carry their EpiPen on them at all times, as well as jewellery or other allergy identifying information that specifies what it is they are allergic to.

Organize a phone tree: A phone tree is a network of people who are organized in such a way that they can quickly spread information amongst each other. Phone trees are useful for international travel because they can communicate urgent information quickly and easily. Setting up the phone tree will take some planning and should be tested prior to trip departure, but once in place, the phone tree network could be used for more than one trip. For international travel, this could mean using the parents or each student’s emergency contact as well as school staff.

Set rules prior to departure: Prior to leaving on an international trip it is important to familiarize all students and other group travel members to any and all areas of the country or city that you are travelling to that should be avoided. Explain why these areas need to be avoided and make it clear that students are to remain with the group at all times unless otherwise stated. Setting clear rules prior to departure and reiterating them throughout the trip will ensure everyone travelling knows the rules.

Carry necessary documentation: Along the same lines as the above point, travelers should carry with them at all times the contact details of the American embassy in that country. If your country does not have an American embassy, find out which other country’s embassy will be available to help in the case of an emergency, such as the Canadian embassy. Travelers should also keep a copy of their passport, as well as medical documentation, and all other important documents in a safe place.

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