Best practices for school trips

Best Practices for
School Trips
Tips and Strategies to Avoid Problems
Aixa B. Rodriguez
NYC DOE Teacher

So you are going to coordinate a trip...
What are the steps to planning an effective school trip?
What are some strategies to avoid problems, conflicts and
liability?
What are some strategies to use trips as incentives?

Planning
First things first, where are you going and why?
Is this an academic trip?
Is this a trip for the purpose of learning?
Will there be a task to be completed during the trip?
Get those questions answered first and make sure everyone knows what is
expected from the trip.

Who is going on the trip?
Decide the target audience of the trip.
Will there be criteria ? Is only a certain class or grade invited? Make these
prerequisites clear. Make sure everyone is aware of the criteria and who is invited
to avoid hurt feelings. Clear up any misconceptions from the beginning.
Which chaperones are going? Which students will they be supervising?
Make these groups up with care and concern for students who get along, and
chaperones who have relationships with kids that will help them keep the kids
behaving well. Make sure students who have had fights or conflicts before are
grouped separately to the best of your ability.

Incentive Trips
Trips designed to increase attendance and achievement should be planned with
much care. In order to obtain the desired result, say increased attendance, one must
get the students on board. There must be buy in to the entire program. This works
best with a long term vision, not as a knee jerk reaction to low attendance.
First step is to agree on what good attendance means and make sure everyone
knows the criteria and how the data will be obtained. For instance, it is not enough to
be in school by the official attendance period. Students could have 90+ attendance
but skip out on, or come late to 1st period. The regular attendance data will not show
the patterns that must be corrected.

Step 1: Baseline
At the end of September, students should receive their attendance
statistics on a contract that makes them eligible for the next trip provided
there is improvement in attendance.The contract that is signed is a
commitment to improve on the attendance stats on it, including scan time,
number of times late to class, # of cuts, # of absences and behavior.
Everyone should be invited to attend this first trip where protocol and
expectations should be enforced. The next trip is dangled as a carrot for
improved behaviors. Students who attend the first trip should have enough
buy in to know how much fun the trips can be.

What data should be on the contract?
In a team, seek out the data you need to know to plan the trip.
Compile the statistics for cutting, absences, first period attendance and
behavior.
Make the time period students will be tracked for clear and public.
Measure improvement from baseline, and maintenance of the desired
attendance percentage.
Compile a list of students that have met eligibility standards.
Agree on what exceptions, if any, can be accepted.

Deadlines
Students must attend to deadlines in order to function in polite society and the
world of work. Practicing meeting deadlines in school helps students become
accountable adults.
Publicize the last day a permission slip can be accepted and stick to it.
The deadlines are important because it leaves time for a trip coordinator to
organize lists confirm chaperones, call parents and make any accompanying
documents. Additionally, being consistent from September, will teach kids to be on
time with their permission slip. It is hard to arrange groups, and excursions etc. with
an incomplete list and multiple changes.

How to avoid the little
surprises and headaches
Write out the names of each student on their individual permission slip.
Block out time or ask a colleague to assist on making calls to the parent of each kid invited to the trip so they are aware a
trip permission slip is coming home with their child.
Attach a memo that details what is needed on the trip and the itinerary and date of the trip for the parent to post on the
fridge.
Once you receive permission slips, confirm with a second phone call that the permission slip is legitimate. Students can
forge parent signatures to attend a trip and without confirming with the parent, there is a chance the student did not have
permission and attended a trip anyway.
Another reason for the calls is to confirm that the numbers are correct. Should an emergency occur, and the number be out
of order or incorrect, there is a chance you may not be able to contact a parent.

“But this sounds like
overkill!”
Scenario 1- Female student gets parent to sign permission slip, but
never submits it. Spends the day with her boyfriend, assuming an out
of town trip will be home late. Parent comes to the school to pick up
her child as it is late, and child is nowhere to be found, hadn’t
attended the trip, and the parent is frantic. Teachers have no record of
the child even submitting a form.
Scenario 2- Kid uses a copy of a permission slip signed by his mom
for his friend to go on the trip, by submitting a copy of his slip and
letting his friend sign his name on the front. Now one parent has given
permission to a child that is not theirs.

“But where will I find the time?”
Scenario 3: You are planning a trip to a national monument
during a high terror alert. Something happens that spooks an
entire crowd and the kids run and scatter. You have to find
missing kids, and contact their parents, but the number on the
back of the slip is not working.
Scenario 4: Angry parent arrives at school looking for their
child. They had not signed a permission slip, it was forged.
Child is grounded and not supposed to go on a trip, but you
took them anyway.
Scenario 5: Permission is confirmed and child doesn’t show up
to school, in this case the child decided not to go.

How can I make the process easier?
Create a master list of students in alphabetical order. Include student ID number, student cell number,
important medical info, parent numbers and emails in September and remember to keep it updated.
Use this same whole school roster to cut and paste information such as who is attending a particular trip, the
list can be used to input the students attending into the ATS / attendance system to generate a proper trip
attendance roster.
Save this document and color code it, add a column for the group/chaperone the students belong to during
each trip. It can be printed and given to each chaperone in their trip folder/clipboard. This allows any
chaperone to have contact information for any student at their finger tips.

The Trip Folder
Each chaperone should receive a folder that has all the important
information needed on the trip. Copies of the individual group permission
slips, and the main roster for the entire trip should be included. The task
or work to be completed should be included. Depending on the type of
trip you have, any vouchers, and other tickets should be counted nd
placed i the trip folder for each chaperone to distribute to their own
particular group. A trip itinerary that give information about when breaks
to eat and go to the restroom should be stapled into the folder.
Transportation forms and directions should be included in the itinerary.
The final count of students should be written next to the total amount
expected in each individual group. This number should be known to all
adults.

Planning for a smooth ride- Walking in
the street
At all times, when walking in the street, chaperones must be
aware of their surroundings and keep the students together.
Ideally there should be one teacher taking point in the front.
This teacher should be the group leader who knows the
destination and details. There should be a teacher in the
middle, keeping the kids to the right of the street for others to
pass o the left and one teacher toward the back of the group to
keep watch over stragglers.

Planning for a smooth ride-
TransportationWhen taking public transportation with a group of
students, it is important to take into consideration
two things, the size of the group and the location
and how busy the train station is. In addition,
mobility issues such as injuries, and pregnancy
should be considered. In a zone where there is
an option to go to an empty platform, with less
stairs, and more ability to spread out a large
group into different train cars, this is preferable to
a crowded platform. Being able to assure
everyone can get into the train car together is
important.

Planning for a smooth ride- School Buses
It is easier to pre assign a chaperone to the
back of the bus, the middle of the bus and
the front of the bus to control student
behavior.
With large groups sometimes it is best to
keep the smaller groups seated together with
their chaperone to avoid having to line up
again after exiting.
It might be a good time to review the trip task
and behavior expectations in the small group.

Keeping in communication- Chaperones
Prior to leaving for the trip, all chaperones
should have a meeting to be able to discuss
what is happening, what the expectations are,
the meeting times etc.
Everyone should have each other’s cell phone
number. A group text should be sent to allow
for all numbers to be saved. That group text
should be how the chaperones communicate
to each other should they get separated, need
assistance or need to locate a missing child.

Responsibilities of the Chaperone
1. Be on time to meetings and “present” during the discussion.
2. Assist in the planning and contacting and organizing of
materials.
3. Do not be distracted by personal calls, or texts
4. Keep in touch and check in with other chaperones
5. Prepare supplies that might be needed: first aid, menstrual
supplies, etc.
6. Be prepared with a charged phone and if possible an
emergency charger.
7. Know where you are going and how.

Parent Chaperones
1. should be included in the planning meetings
for the trip and given the opportunity to know
the names of the kids in their group.
2. Should receive a chaperone folder as well.
3. Should be given clear expectations of how
parents should conduct themselves should be
given before the trip.
4. Should be given a task, such as taking
pictures or video with a school camera.

Spread the good cheer!- Social media
Prior to the trip, decide if the students and chaperones will tweet
the events of the trip. Inform parents, who can follow along with
the fun from work or home.
Choose a hashtag, for example
#BronxHSStatueofLibertyTrip2016 , check to see if it is in use or
close to something else before you post.
Publicize the hashtag. Teach the kids and chaperones how to
tweet out their pictures to the hashtag and how to search for the
pics.

At the end of trip
1. Collect all photographs in a google drive folder
2. Allow the students to create short videos and presentations from all the
crowdsourced photos and videos.
3. This lends itself to much planning, writing and collaborating to extend this
learning into the classroom.

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