Student travel update
At the Lowell School Committee meeting last week, more than 18 travel requests were unanimously approved, including several involving students travelling out of the country (one during school vacation in 2011). While the committee voted to approve these future trips, a group of students from the LHS Crew Team and their coaches were traveling in Europe. The group kept a daily log of their experiences online, which you can access here.
As mentioned in an earlier post, more information on the updated policy regarding student travel follows: The new policy requires that trips be approved BEFORE any money is collected from students and families. In addition, field trips—that is, travel that does not include students representing Lowell Schools in a formal event, such as a sporting or band competition, requires written justification of learning standards if students will miss time from school. The new policy does not minimize the importance of student travel or the educational and cultural learning involved in such experiences, but is more in line with the district’s policy regarding attendance. Since parents are expected to plan trips during school vacation and not impose on the 180 days of instructional time allotted each year, field trips are also encouraged to occur during vacation periods. If there is to be time lost from school, the approval process calls for discussion and voting on a case-by-case basis with consideration given to the justification for days missed. For the full policy, see:
Lowell Public Schools, Bold sections revised Jan. 21, 2009
FIELD TRIPS
The school committee recognizes that first-hand learning experiences provided by field trips are a most effective and worthwhile means of learning. It is the desire of the Committee to encourage field trips as an integral part of the program of the schools. Specific guidelines and appropriate administrative procedures shall be developed to screen, approve and evaluate trips and to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken for the safety of the participants. Said guidelines and procedures should be developed by the Administration and reviewed and approved by the School Committee.
These guidelines and appropriate administrative procedures shall ensure that all field trips have the approval of the principal and that all overnight trips have the prior approval of appropriate Administrative level. The following guidelines are set to implement the planning of field trips as part of, and directly related to, classroom learning activities.
1. Approval of the School Committee must be granted prior to money being collected, arrangements being made, or parental consent being issued for all overnight field trips.
2. The application for approval for an overnight field trip which requires students to miss a day or more of school must include written justification from the teacher proposing the trip.
3. The application for approval for an overnight field trip which requires students to miss a day or more of school must include a written statement of the learning standards the trip will address.
4. The application for approval for an overnight field trip must include an itemization of all costs associated with the trip and the funding source.
5. All proposed field trips must have the approval of the school building administrator.
6. All day trips must be within budgetary allotments for such purpose and be approved by the superintendent. Any trip, for which there is no budget allotment, must have advance approval of the School Committee.
7. Each student who goes on a field trip must have written parental permission.
8. Enough supervision must be provided so that discipline on the trip is effective.
9. All trips must be well planned, properly timed, and related to regular learning activities.