Half of the battle of planning an awesome student trip is ensuring students and parents are on board.
You may receive overwhelming interest when you first announce a trip, but you also may not. Consider these tips for garnering excitement and interest in your trip no matter what.
Hold several informational meetings.
Be sure to give both students and parents ample opportunities to learn what your trip has in store for them—attractions, lessons, details, deadlines, etc. The more parents are involved and informed early on, the more likely they are to get behind their child going and assist in any efforts needed to do so. Make yourself available for questions and be sure to be knowledgeable.
Share testimonials.
Have you traveled to this destination before with students? Have some of them come back and share with your class what they loved! Students hearing their peers speak highly of an experience or attraction will get them even more excited than they may have been before, and may tip the scales when it comes to any students who were unsure about attending before.
Incorporate your trip into your curriculum beforehand.
Start sharing information about any historic sites and local cultural traditions your destination may have with your class beforehand. Not only will this get students excited about the things they’ll encounter—and possibly get some more students to sign up—but it will add a real “a-ha!” moment for students once they experience or see something firsthand you’ve already taught.
Get visual.
Share posters and flyers around your school wherever potentially interested students may see them and spend their time (homeroom, lunchtime, etc.) Using enticing imagery will be eye-catching and conversation starting. You never know—it could be the one thing that finally gets a student to seriously consider signing up for the trip.
