SRSD lifts field trip travel ban
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This article was published 10/10/2022 (1101 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A pandemic-induced moratorium on international field trips in Seine River School Division has been repealed by the board of trustees.
The nine-member board agreed by consensus to lift the ban following a discussion instigated by senior administrators at a Sept. 27 meeting in Lorette.
Chris Szun, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said an international field trip hadn’t been organized in Seine River since spring 2020. Parents were now asking Szun whether trip planning could resume.
Szun said some international field trips, like those involving air travel to Europe, require 18 months of planning, meaning spring 2024 trips hinged on a decision now.
Band teachers, meanwhile, are “chomping at the bit” to bus their students to annual music competitions in Minneapolis and Chicago, Szun said.
Before broaching the issue with trustees, Szun surveyed other school divisions.
“Boy, it really ran the gamut,” he said.
Some divisions said they had phased out school-sponsored international field trips even before the pandemic. Others said they were keeping their moratoriums in place in case the pandemic worsened. Meanwhile, a few divisions said they had already resumed trip planning.
Vice-chair Christine Roskos and trustee Greg Reid framed international field trips as an equity issue. Some students wouldn’t otherwise get the chance to experience international travel, they said.
“I would like to see our school trips return, sooner rather than later,” Roskos said.
Trustee Gary Nelson agreed, noting the moratorium was imposed to align with COVID-19 restrictions, which have now subsided.
“The pandemic has more or less run its course,” Nelson said. “It’s a little scarier road right now, but I think we have to be open to looking at those opportunities.”
Nelson said those planning an international field trip should nevertheless notify senior administrators early in the planning process.
Szun said he is cautioning parents that the cost of international travel has increased, while protections afforded by insurance providers have decreased amid continued uncertainty stemming from COVID-19.
“The dice are being rolled to a degree for our families if something was to happen,” Szun said.