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Senior trip committee suggests alternatives
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
 | | Highland County Public Schools school board member Jim Blagg chaired a subcommittee of teachers and parents tasked with reviewing the 2006 senior trip policy that virtually eliminated the five-day senior trip for students beginning with the class of 2011. |
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MONTEREY - Whether Highland High School seniors get to take a senior trip, and what that trip might be, is still up for discussion.
The previous school board - based on school staff recommendations - had changed the policy on senior trips, and now, parents and students say the new requirements aren't fair. The new school board agreed to take another look at the policy, and had appointed a subcommittee of parents and teachers coordinated by school board member Jim Blagg, to review the nuts and bolts.
The committee met Monday, and deliberated the pros and cons of the policy. Blagg will present the committee's suggestions and observations to the school board. By the end of the meeting, the group concluded that:
¦ The senior trip should be educational and fun;
¦ It should not have a significant impact on teachers' instructional time;
¦ Seniors should travel to the same place each year (such as an annual trip to New York City);
¦ Classes should be aware that limiting the distance traveled could reduce school liability;
¦ Different classes will have more or less money available for a class trip, prom, or graduation based on their ability to raise money;
¦ Classes should ask the school board for approval of trip at the beginning of their junior year so the board has time to approve it and make changes if necessary; and
¦ A policy should be written connecting senior trip participation with fund-raising participation.
The policy now in place stipulates the class should have four annual day trips with an educational orientation instead of the previous tradition of one big, fun, five-day trip, where three of those were school days.
The class of 2011 is the first class to fall under the new rule. Parents and students complained earlier this year that it was not fair to take away a senior trip the students have been looking forward to and planning for since sixth grade.
The subcommittee, in addition to Blagg, consisted of three teachers who have served as class sponsors - Jackie Stephenson, Joyce Ralston, and Margie Swanger; HHS principal Randy Hooke; and two parents, Christy Moyers and Mary Beth Gutshall.
The opinions expressed during the meeting reflected the consensus of the group and were not necessarily the opinions of any one member. Blagg intends to present them to the school board.
Committee members agreed education should remain the primary focus of any senior trip, but they also felt a fun activity should be part of the mix. For students, the primary focus of a senior trip seemed to be socializing, not destination. Also, trip to a nearby attraction would work just as well as a long-distance trip, the group reasoned.
The length of the trip was a factor that divided teachers and parents. Senior trips lasting up to five days, involving travel of more than a day, is more expensive and carried more liabilities and safety concerns that sponsors were reluctant to take on. If a child became ill or needed to go home, a closer destination made it easier for parents to get their children. Sponsors are responsible for dispensing student medications and getting appropriate treatment for students who become ill or injured. Certain destinations can be more dangerous than others - higher crime in big cities, for example. Travel outside the country could have additional problems of liability - unfamiliar language, customs, and legal standards add to the risks of something going awry. Staying closer to home in mostly familiar settings is safer, the group agreed.
If the school board decides to reinstate the five-day trip (three school days and a weekend), it should be limited to a specific distance (one member suggested a 300-mile radius from Highland) or to New York City, the committee said.
Teachers said the trip to New York was a success because the city had so many educational and recreational opportunities. In addition, previous trips to the city have generated contacts and lessons about travel there that can be passed on.
The group agreed that Florida should not be a class destination due to cost, complexity and distance.
According to the Virginia Education Association, teachers said, they cannot be required to attend a five-day trip. Being a class sponsor is a supplemental position, they reasoned, and as such should be voluntary. And the stipend (2 percent of salary) is not enough for the work involved and the time away from their regular classes, they said. Teachers want to be able to opt out of a senior trip if they decide it is too much for them to handle.
Parents defended their children, noting they work hard to raise money for a senior trip, one that serves as a memorable capstone to their years in public school and a well-deserved reward.
Fund-raisers inevitably become the responsibility of sponsors, teachers said. Long hours organizing, supervising, and keeping records can divert teachers from their primary duties, they said. While parents insisted they, and the students, would gladly pick up the slack, teachers maintained that since the trip is a school function, staff participation is essential.
Parents suggested a teacher need not go on a senior trip, but again, because it's a school function, teachers noted a member of school staff must be in charge and present during the trip for liability reasons.
Last year's senior trip cost roughly $16,500 for 21 students plus four chaperones. That works out to about $670 a person, said teacher Margie Swanger, last year's senior class sponsor. It was less than previous trips because the class saved money by not hiring a tour guide.
All classes pay for their prom, graduation, and senior trip through fund-raisers. Prom costs roughly $3,500-$4,500; graduation runs between $1,000-$1,500, Hooke said.
Fundraising creates another problem, the group said. How does one decide who contributed enough to the fund-raising effort to go on the trip? There are no standards for record keeping, but somehow the classes keep track of who works and who doesn't. But should there be an across-theboard standard? If so, what should that standard be and how should it be enforced? Discussion included allowing students to pay in lieu of fund-raising work. The group noted not all students participate equally in fund-raising for prom and graduation, but all students are allowed to participate in those events.
Blagg suggested the sponsors prepare a draft proposal on the level of participation required to attend a senior trip.
Hooke defended the work of the previous committee charged with changing the policy, saying all the issues covered by the new subcommittee were covered two years earlier.
Blagg took notes and promised to reflect accurately the consensus of the subcommittee when he reported the discussion to the school board.
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