Avoid these mistakes planning your trip.
Get everything you want with these tips.
How you can get everything you want on your school trip.
Each year you have more and more responsibilities that can feel overwhelming, but most of the responsibilities you end up being tasked with have little to do with your goal of inspiring your students. We get it. You want to inspire your students without the hassle of all the extra busywork.
We’ve detailed 3 simple steps to streamline your pre-trip planning. Our group leader guide will save you time, create a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and unforgettable memories with your students. You’re going to want to add this timeline to your calendar and craft a few emails to schedule send.
Follow these steps to plan the most inspiring trip for you and your students.
Step 1. Begin trip planning early. Start planning 6 months to a year + to ensure a great trip for you and your students. Depending on your institution, you may need to receive pre-approval from your site administrator or Superintendent (more on this later). An added benefit of early planning: it gives your students and their families more time to make payments and fundraise-- making the trip more affordable.
Step 2. Reach out to your tour consultant and create your best trip ever. Your consultant will work with you to tailor your experiential itinerary-- from hotels to historic landmarks. Communicating your vision early allows time for your tour consultant to book must-see sites and tour guides for your tour group.
Step 3. Plan an exciting pre-trip kickoff meeting. Ask your tour consultant to host your meeting whether they take place in-person or on Zoom. The goal of this meeting is to discuss your school field trip and bring clarity to parent and student questions. Send a meeting invitation 3 weeks in advance and send 3 reminder emails the week of the meeting.
You’ve done it!
Picture this. You are leading your perfect student travel trip. Your students are having a great time and asking engaging questions. You actually enjoy the food you are eating. The sites you visit bring your curriculum to life. Everything is going according to plan, which allows you to relax and have fun
This is why you became a teacher, to inspire your students. You are leading a memory-making trip for your students. But, how did you avoid stress and unmet expectations on your trip? Let’s go back to the beginning.
Three Steps to planning your best school trip
Here’s how you’ll win field trip approval
Receiving trip approval is the first step to kick off your trip with students. Your student travel trip will likely need approval from your site administrator. In some cases, we’ve seen school boards, superintendents, and other decision-making bodies have the final say on travel plans. Your best course of action is to contact your school administrators early about providing this opportunity for students. This process is usually very fast and you’ll be appreciated and respected for providing an educational tour on your campus.
Receiving trip approval can be as easy as a quick in-person meeting with an administrator. In your conversation with your site administrator, you’ll lay out a plan to start a student trip tradition on your campus. Our experience is that administrators support having travel opportunities on their campus.
Your educational trip is a unique enrichment opportunity and a point of interest for families of incoming students. Your school community will be grateful for your initiative to provide a memory-making experience for students.
What is the difference between a school-sponsored student trip and a non-school-sponsored student trip?
Non-school sponsored trips.
Some school districts are not affiliated with school trips. Whether your trip is school-sponsored or not, will have no bearing on the quality of your trip. Non-school-sponsored trips do not go through a formal approval process. Even if your trip is not school-sponsored, communicating travel plans with your admin and following your school district guidelines while touring is highly recommended. This process is the same whether you teach elementary school, middle school, or high school.
Your tour consultant will create registration forms and marketing materials so that you can promote a trip that follows the guidelines of your school district. Your tour operator should be able to easily guide you through this process.
Set a calendar reminder to meet with your site administrator and discuss your trip.
Here’s how you can get everything you want.
Your goal is to lead an inspiring real-world school trip for your students. Don’t settle for anything less than your vision. You and your students deserve a great trip. Here’s how you get everything you want for your trip and when you can get started. (Hint: now.).
Schedule a call with your tour consultant well in advance of your travel dates. Spread the word about your trip on campus 6 months to a year + in advance. Planning your trip early will give your tour operator more time to book your preferred guides, bus drivers, and favorite hotels. This is the time to ask for all of your inclusions and set the foundation for your memory-making trip. Whether you make minor tweaks to your previous year’s itinerary or plan an entirely new learning environment (destination), your tour consultant will guide you through the process. Your tour consultant will be your trip insider on cool events when you travel, new hotels, and much more. The goal is to deliver a premium trip with the best learning experiences. Pro tip: Choose an inspiring trip destination that will build excitement on campus. We like New York!
We understand that some families may identify financial constraints as a key barrier to participation in their class trip. Planning your trip early will give families more time to make payments in manageable installments and fundraise for their trip. Starting the trip planning early allows monthly payments to spread out over time. Families can fundraise for birthdays, holidays, and graduation. If your students fundraise on campus, they’ll have a longer horizon to pay off their trip.
Book a call with your tour consultant. They’re excited to take your call and learn about your perfect trip vision. They will support your trip vision from your planning phase to your post-trip meeting.
Here’s how you’ll bring clarity to parents and students.
Teachers have a lot on their plates. You don't want to feel overwhelmed by trip-related phone calls and emails. Your goal of teaching is to lead and inspire students, not to answer the same questions over and over again. Here’s how you’ll bring clarity to parents and students.
Your tour consultant can support an in-person or zoom “Trip Kickoff” meeting. This meeting will help students with a trip overview and answer any questions. Most of the parents' questions will understandably be about safety, while most of the students’ questions will be about the social parts of the trip (roommates and bus lists).
If it’s your first time leading a trip, your tour consultant will handle any questions (after all, they are subject matter experts!) that parents and students might ask. If you’ve led several trips, you can take a lead role at the meeting or simply introduce yourself and let the tour consultant take the lead. This meeting is designed to prepare students and their families for a great trip. Plan this early in the school year or up to a year in advance.
The Bottom Line in your pre-trip planning
You want to provide the best experience for your students. But, we understand that sometimes life gets busy. Simplify your pre-trip planning and add this timeline to your calendar.
6- 12 Months in Advance: Begin your pre-trip planning as early as possible. We recommend starting to plan your educational tour 6 months to a year in advance.
* Work with your site administrator for your pre-trip approval. This can be as easy as a quick conversation in the hallway or a scheduled meeting with your principal. They will likely be grateful to you for providing an enrichment opportunity for students. This process is the same regardless of grade level.
*Plan a call with your tour consultant. They love talking to educators! Outline your perfect trip vision. Your tour consultant will guide you through all of the new attractions and opportunities to create a memorable trip with your students.
* Start Fundraising. If your trip is scheduled far enough in advance, your students and their families will have time to spread out payments and fundraising. This will allow more students to share in this wonderful opportunity you’ve provided.
1 Month before travel:
*Your pre-trip kick-off meeting will build excitement for your program and bring clarity to parent and student questions. Your tour consultant will answer any questions and alleviate most of the parent calls and emails that add to your daily workload.
Complete these steps early and your trip is on the right track. Imagine visiting the Empire State Building and seeing the look in your students’ eyes. Standing with your chaperone friends and watching old faithful erupt at Yellowstone National Park. Connect your lesson plans with your real-world field trip. With some much to see and do, where will you take your students? The possibilities are endless.
If you're still not feeling sure about navigating the trip planning process we can definitely help. Schedule time to have a quick chat about your goals.