Tips for Leading Your Best School Trip Parent Meeting
How to Lead a Parent Night For Your Student Trip.
How can you lead an amazing parent night for your student trip? First, imagine what your perfect trip meeting looks like. You are running a smooth meeting. Families have all of their questions answered. Students are eager to travel with their friends. Your students deserve to take a life-changing trip.
Follow this parent meeting toolkit and set your trip up for success.
Step 1 - How to Set Up Your School Trip Parent Night
Working with Administrators or your school district, picking trip meeting dates, and deciding whether your meeting will be in person or online.
Step 2 - Increasing Attendance at your School Trip Parent Night
Planning the most effective way to spread the word about your school trip meeting.
Step 3 - Tips for Leading The Best Parent Meeting For Your School Trip
Whether you lead a school trip meeting in person or virtually, use these best practices. You'll feel great knowing that your meeting was a success. Parents will parents have all the information they need to make the right decision for their family. You and your students will have an amazing time together on your memory-making school trip.
School Trip Parent Meeting Infographic
Before You Get Started - How to Set Up Your School Trip Parent Night
You want your trip to be a success. Parents want enrichment opportunities for their kids. Follow these steps to hold a great parent meeting for your school trip.
Pick a day of the week to hold your meeting. Stay away from holding a parent meeting on the busy nights of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and even Monday. Increase trip meeting enrollment and hold your meeting on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. The time you hold your meeting also matters. Starting between 6 and 7 causes less impact with work schedules and after-school-sports.
Check with your fellow chaperones about their availability to attend the trip meeting. Parents will appreciate all of the chaperones giving a brief introduction at the start of the meeting.
Check your school calendar for conflicts. Your trip meeting should not conflict with any evening events on your campus. Your goal is to present this opportunity to as many families as possible so they can make an informed decision about sending their child. It can be challenging and time-consuming to respond to a parent email,' "Sorry, I couldn't make the meeting. What did I miss?" Quick tip, you might send a meeting ppt and a recorded zoom meeting url.
Now that you have a night or two picked out speak with your public school Principal or Superintendent about holding a trip meeting on campus. Before the meeting, consider whether you want to have a tech or no tech for your meeting. Often times this is an easy process, and you can hold your meeting in a larger room on campus. Think multi-purpose room or school library. If holding a meeting on campus requires a facility rental, send the facility form to your tour operator ASAP. District approval to rent facilities may be time-consuming and require paperwork. Don't worry, we can help!
Some teachers like to hold their trip meetings off-campus. Parent meetings off-campus are held at lodges, pizza parlors, family homes, and banquet rooms. An added benefit of holding a meeting at a restaurant is that families can grab dinner to go or eat during the meeting. Consider how important tech is for your meeting.
Here are the steps for setting up a parent meeting:
Planning to hold your meeting on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between 6 and 7 PM.
Choosing a few dates that do not conflict with events on your school calendar.
Choosing a few dates that do not conflict with your chaperones' schedules.
Speaking with your school administrator about meeting dates and locations.
Setting a Meeting start time, date, and location.
Ways to Increase Attendance at your School Trip Parent Night
We've all be asked this question a few days or weeks after a parent meeting. "When is the parent meeting for the trip?" We're not certain that question will ever go away. What we are certain of is a plan for more families to learn about your trip meeting. Another common issue is that families intend to attend a meeting, but something comes up, or they forget about the meeting. We've got you covered there too.
Spread the word about your trip meeting through all school communication channels at the beginning of your school year. Your trip meeting campaign should always follow the rules of your school. If you have access to a parent email list, send a trip meeting email one month before your meeting. To increase attendance, send a follow-up email one week before your meeting, 3 days before your meeting, 12 hours before your meeting, and 1 hour before your meeting. We all need reminders, and parents are no different.
Build excitement for your trip on campus. Present a short trip video in all of the history classes. Ask students that have gone on the trip to visit classrooms and present your trip for the lower grade levels. Students want to hear from their peers who have gone on the trip!
Distribute registration and trip meeting handouts during the school day. Have your students return the trip meeting form signed by their parents if they plan to attend the meeting. Ask for parent email addresses so that you can follow up with trip updates.
Consult with your PTA on other ways to spread school event information to parents. Add your trip information and meeting dates to the PTA newsletter. Your PTA can be a collaborative resource for connecting with parents. Leverage parent involvement in growing your trip.
Add your trip meeting to your school's daily announcements. Add your trip meeting to your school calendar. Hang trip meeting sign around your school. Schedule to have a short Q & A before or after your back-to-school night or open house.
Your school community is online. Announce your trip and trip meeting on Social Media. Have an influential parent announce your trip meeting on social media.
If your trip is virtual, we like the RSVP function on Zoom. The process is simple. Parents enter their email addresses and answer a few trip meeting-related questions. We use their answers to create our presentation and answer any questions.
Here are the steps Increase attendance at your School Trip Parent Night
Communicate your trip meeting through all school communication channels
If you have access to parents' email, schedule a trip meeting email campaign.
Ask trip alumni to present the trip to history classes. Use video.
Work with your PTA to spread the word about your trip meeting.
Add your trip meeting info, the school announcements, and the school calendar.
For virtual meetings, use the RSVP function on zoom.
Tips for Leading the Best (In-Person) Parent Meeting For Your School Trip
The objective of your trip meeting is to present your travel program opportunity and to answer any questions. Your trip is educational and fun. By the end of your meeting, parents will be reassured, and students will be excited to travel with you. Whether you are presenting at your school or off-site, arrive early. If you are setting up AV equipment, this is especially important. Create and print a few sign-in forms that request parent name, parent email, student name, student history teacher, etc. Bring extra registration forms, and any other important information parents might request.
Your meeting is starting in 15 min. Greet parents and students as they arrive. This is not only polite, but it also reassures parents. Start the meeting by introducing yourself and having your fellow chaperones (educators) introduce themselves. Parents will want to know which of their child's teachers is leading the trip. Parents will want to hear about safety. Start and finish your meeting with your health and well-being plan.
Share a short video that includes teachers and students on tour. Students will transport themselves onto the field trip and feel the exhilaration of traveling with classmates. Go through the trip itinerary and share more details about your favorite places and activities. Students will want to know about busses, hotels and roommates, packing, and food. Share information about fundraising.
If this sounds overwhelming, we've got you covered. We'll send a GL representative to your trip meeting. You'll introduce yourself to the group, and we'll handle the rest of the meeting.
Tips for Leading the Best (Virtual) Parent Meeting For Your School Trip
Leading a virtual parent meeting is similar to a regular parent meeting. You’ll provide introductions, health and safety measures, and travel particulars. Running an efficient zoom meeting is important. Trip leaders likely have hundreds of hours of zoom experience, but here goes!
Check the zoom setting to mute all microphones upon entry." In the zoom chat function, post your trip registration and ask parents to share their emails (publicly or privately). If questions arise during the meeting, use chat. Answer all questions and provide your email address if there are follow-up questions.
A parent wants to provide impactful opportunities for their child's education. You know that travel is essential for student learning. All families should learn more about the great opportunity you are providing for students.
Your trip meeting was a great success. Parents felt satisfied, and students were excited to travel with friends after your meeting. Here are the cliff notes on leading the best parent meeting for your school trip:
Step 1 - How to Set Up Your School Trip Parent Night
Working with Administrators or your school district, picking trip meeting dates, and deciding whether your meeting will be in person or online.
Step 2 - Increasing Attendance at your School Trip Parent Night
Planning the most effective way to spread the word about your school trip meeting.
Step 3 - Tips for Leading The Best Parent Meeting For Your School Trip
Whether you lead a school trip meeting in person or virtually, you're going to want to follow some best practices.
Need any help planning a parent meeting? We can help with that! Our mission is to create memory-making trips that teachers and their students love. Click the let's talk button and schedule a convenient time to talk about your perfect trip.