Van Buren Intermediate School District
Administrative Guidelines
 

2340A - FIELD TRIP GUIDELINES

Field trips as defined in Board policy must be related to a course of study and therefore are a required part of instruction. If the trip cannot be directly related to a course of study, it should be considered a co-curricular or extra-curricular activity. The following guidelines have been provided to help ensure the effectiveness of all field trips.

General Procedures
 A.All requests shall be submitted to the principal on the Field Trip Request Form (2340 F1) at least two (2) weeks in advance of the scheduled trip with the names of all staff members and chaperones who will accompany the students.
 B.Upon approval of a trip, the principal shall forward a copy of the pretrip proposal to the Director.
 C.Parental Consent Forms must be returned to the administration before the trip. A blanket authorization may be obtained for trips that will consist of a series of trips during the school year. If the student will be unsupervised during certain portions of the trip, Form 2340 F2A must be signed and returned prior to the trip. No student will be allowed to participate if the parental consent form is not received prior to the trip.
 D.The list of participating students must be posted in the faculty room, the main office, and each teacher's mail box prior to the trip. Where appropriate each local school district must be notified.
 E.All out of state field trips must be approved by the Superintendent.
 F.A copy of each student's Emergency Medical Authorization Form is to be in the possession of the staff member in charge.
 G.A copy of AG 5771, Search and Seizure, is to be provided to the person in charge of the trip for his/her use if a search of a student's possession becomes necessary.
 H.Field trips may be denied for any one of the following reasons:
  1.failure to comply satisfactorily with pretrip requirements
  2.excessive cost or limited financial resources
  3.the students involved have generally been involved in other field trips or school activities that have kept them out of class in the weeks preceding or following the scheduled trip
  4.excessive number of students taking trips on that particular day
  5.lack of availability of transportation
  6.inadequate provision for student safety and welfare
 I.Each principal is to develop and publish a list of times during the school year when field trips will not be approved.
 J.Problems with the field trip should be brought to the attention of the principal immediately upon return. The principal shall inform the Director of any major problems.
 K.For every field trip there must be a ratio of teachers and chaperones to students as determined by the principal.
 L.Prior to arrival at the destination, students are to be made aware of:
  1.how they are to conduct themselves;
  2.what time the bus will leave for the return trip;
  3.where the bus will be located for the departure;
  4.any specific information that the students should know with reference to the area being visited.
 M.At no time are students to be left ON THEIR OWN during the course of the field trip, without parental approval.
 N.At least one (1) staff member is to remain at the school after the return trip until all students have been picked up.
 O.Any disciplinary problems are to be reported to the principal immediately upon returning to the school for appropriate action.

In the event of any emergency during a field trip, the bus driver should contact appropriate persons from his/her emergency list and the teacher in charge should contact the principal or other administrator.

Because field trips are considered an integral part of a course of study and represent a significant cost to the District, it is essential that each trip be carefully planned, conducted according to the plan, and then evaluated in terms of how well the learning purpose was accomplished.

Planning for Field Trips
 A.Will this proposed trip provide a valid learning experience and contribute directly to accomplishing an important learning objective within the course of study?
 B.What environmental conditions at the site might make it difficult to gather important information?
 C.What facilities or resources will be available for guiding the data gathering and answering questions?
 D.What health and safety risks are involved?
 E.Will it be worth the time and expense? i.e.
  1.Would another activity be just as effective?
  2.Can the trip be made within the time available?
  3.Will the experience provide a significantly new learning experience for a majority of the class?
  4.Can the purpose be realized without undue inconvenience to students, parents, teachers, and places visited?
  5.Will the selection of places to visit produce ill feeling in the community? (e.g., visit to chain store as against visit to corner store)
  6.Will the trip have parental and community support?

Preparation for Field Trips
 A.Teacher Preparation
  1.Arrange through administration for consent to make trip prior to parental consent.
  2.Make arrangements with authorities at the place of destination.
  3.Plan transportation route, in detail, and arrange financing with the principal, if necessary.
 B.Student Preparation
  1.Make clear to students the learning purposes of the trip and how it will contribute to their accomplishing particular learning objectives.
  2.Provide a transition from what they have been learning to what they will be learning through the trip.
  3.Work out with students the focus of their observations and questions for each category of information they are to gather on the trip.
  4.Help students organize any materials or references they may be using during the trip.
  5.Set up with students the standards of behavior and safety and emphasize that the Code of Conduct applies to the trip.

Conduct of Field Trips
 A.Gathering and Recording the Information
  1.Provide the guide with a clear idea of the purpose of the trip (set of questions prepared by teacher and students).
  2.Make sure all students are in a position to observe and to hear the guide's explanations.
  3.Arrange for questions to be asked periodically and be sure all students hear the responses to the questions.
  4.Provide opportunities for all or selected students to properly record the observations and information for later use in the classroom.
 B.Classroom Follow Through
  1.Guide students in the preparation of what they remember and what they recorded and then organize the information into useful categories.
  2.Have the students examine their data to correct any misinformation and to locate any gaps in the information that they will have to deal with through further research and data gathering.
  3.Ask students to analyze the data and form relevant conclusions based on their analysis.
  4.Provide a transition from these new learnings to what they will be learning next.
  5.Make sure students send appropriate thank you letters to the people in charge of the site they visited.

Evaluation of Field Trips

The staff member responsible for the field trip is to complete the Field Trip Evaluation (Form 2340 F7) and submit a copy of the completed form to his/her principal within three (3) work days after the trip is completed.