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Guidelines for Overnight Travel with Students

Q What guidelines can advisers refer to when preparing to take student council leaders to events that require overnight stays?

A Whether it is attending one's own state student council events or national activities, there are several rules of thumb that all advisers should consider to reflect a professional and caring approach.

Obtaining Trip Approval

Principal's permission. As with any school-related activity, the first step is to secure the proper permissions for attending the leadership program. Most schools utilize student organization or club travel forms that serve as the principal's initial introduction to the event being considered. It is also good to include supporting information on the event such as program schedules, logistics, and projected costs. Along with these, information on the facility and any safety information can also be advantageous.

District and board approval. Today, a great number of school districts nationwide require that group travel requests receive additional approvals at the district and board levels. It is important for the adviser to know and understand the policies for approving student travel in his or her own district in order to know how long it will take for travel requests to move through the process, including possible delays that could arise due to unforeseen hurdles or last-minute requests for additional information. Here again, it is always good practice to prepare supplemental information and submit it with the application and required documentation.

When boards or district officials consider student travel requests, there are sometimes opportunities for the adviser and group making the request to make a presentation in support of their application. Where those opportunities present themselves, advisers should always work with the student leaders to prepare concise and sincere presentations. The presentation should include thanking the body for the opportunity to speak and explaining why the students want to attend, what they will get out of going, and how it is beneficial to their education and to them personally as leaders. The presentation should also speak to how the students will use the experience to benefit their school and community. If the presentation is to be given during a board meeting, be sure to wear the proper attire-business, business casual, or student council polo-style shirts with insignia with slacks. Casual school dress and T-shirts should not be worn by the students who present to the board.

Parent support. The other group that advisers must obtain permission from for student travel is parents. Schools typically use a universal permission form for student travel. Be sure the form you use includes medical information on the student such as medications being taken, insurance information, and permission for you to seek treatment in case of an emergency.

In addition to the permission form, schedule a short meeting for the parents of those students planning to go on the trip. Parents like details and because papers don't always get passed along from their children they appreciate advisers who can fill in the gaps.

During a parent meeting, parents should receive a handout that has such details as hotel phone numbers, how much spending money is needed, what meals are covered, and what students are expected to pay for. Some parents may even want to know the name of the company if charter buses are used, or if the group is using school or personal vehicles, what route they will be traveling. A final but important point to make for having a parent meeting before taking students to overnight events is that it raises the confidence level of parents, especially the ones who may not have had much, if any, direct contact with an adviser prior to this activity.

Organizing Transportation

When planning how to get to and from an overnight student council event, know what the local policy regarding student travel is and plan accordingly.

District procedures. Districts may have specific procedures that must be followed when students will be traveling by air, charter bus, or in other vehicles now owned by the school or district. Using school or district-owned vehicles will mean mileage, fuel, and driver salary costs. Advisers will need to work with school transportation officials to calculate the projected cost and decide how that bill will be paid.

The advantages and disadvantages to using school transportation fluctuate for every trip: travel distance, number of nights at the event, average condition of the buses, and the time of year. Districts may require that trips within certain distances use school or activity buses.

Travel companies. If a tour or travel service will be used, advisers should select the service carefully. Always make sure the company has consumer insurance, which will guarantee that the school can recover its funds in the event the company goes out of business or cannot deliver the promised services. Advisers can make air travel with students go smoother by reviewing airline and airport policies and processes regarding check-in, baggage, and identification.

Planning Lodging

Other than transportation, the other major component of student travel is lodging. When student council events are held in hotels and students are housed on site, the host organization will usually reserve a block of rooms for the event. Room reservations may or may not be included as part of conference registrations and advisers should always read brochures and registration materials carefully to ascertain this information.

If the group will be required to make its own reservations, advisers should contact the hotel directly, according to instructions from the event sponsor. There may be some events for which advisers need to get hotel reservations early and others that require the group's conference registrations be confirmed prior to making hotel arrangements. Always review the hotel reservation policies, including check-in, check-out, and room cancellations.

When an event may be so large that several hotels may be used, sponsors will still typically block groups of rooms at each one to help ensure that space is available for groups attending. In this situation, advisers are advised to research each hotel for price differences and location. This should be done early, though, as the main or "conference" hotel is usually the most popular and will fill up first.

Before You Go

Now that all the permissions have been formally approved, travel is set, and everyone has a place to stay, there is one more easy but important step before the group departs, and that is to provide a thorough itinerary and contact information packet to every student, parent, and the principal. The word "thorough" is emphasized because when traveling with students, a simple outline of the schedule and one cell phone number is not enough. A complete itinerary should include not only times, but brief descriptions of the activities and sites to be visited. Parents also like to know where their children are eating and which meals will be paid for and which ones won't. Even though meal logistics may be included in the pre-event information, it is beneficial for students to be able to refer to the meal plans while they are traveling.

Traveling with student leaders can be an incredible experience for both the students and advisers. With just a little planning and effort, advisers can give parents and school administrators a good sense that the students are traveling with a professional and caring adviser who will work to ensure their safety and deliver a quality experience.

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