Michael Nickerson is a Spanish Teacher at Winthrop High School near Boston, MA. Sharing his love of travel with students has been a big part of his almost 20-year teaching career: Michael “Señor” Nickerson has taken several tours with Explorica, beginning with a trip to Spain before venturing to other countries. Here are his tips for choosing an educational tour:
The secret to my success — Multiple parent meetings
Teacher travelers know that when planning a student tour, the parent meeting is essential for garnering interest and sharing important details.
Over my years of traveling, I have learned that holding multiple meetings that are carefully timed throughout the school year is the best way for me to grow a successful student tour.
There are many benefits to holding multiple meetings: They help grow your group and keep students interested throughout the school year, as well as keeping both students and parents well informed.
They also allow for students to get more comfortable with their fellow travelers, as they may not be friends with all of them, and for students and parents alike to get comfortable with me and the chaperones.
It’s not hard to incorporate multiple meetings into your tour planning. Here are some examples of the types of meetings I hold throughout the school year:
1: Building on the momentum of the previous trip
I always want students to sign up as early as possible in order to keep the monthly payments as low as possible for their parents. Because we do our trips every April, I like to do a parent meeting for the following April trip very soon after we return from a trip.
This year, I held a parent meeting for the students headed to Spain/Portugal right after we returned from our trip to Ireland/UK. At that point, there was great momentum and enthusiasm for travelling. At these early meetings, I invite students who have just travelled to share their experiences so that the next group of potential travelers and those that have already signed up can see and hear firsthand about the amazing time the students had.
Also, this timing works well because students with jobs have a tangible goal for saving money earned over the summer.
2. Kicking off the school year with recruitment
Once school is back in session in September, I like to have another meeting. At this point, I am still in recruiting mode in my classes. I encourage students to inform their parents about this meeting because if I can get them in the room, I can sell them on Explorica and the many benefits of traveling.
Good visuals are essential for recruitment at this meeting: They get the students who have registered excited, and can help sway parents who are on the fence. I like to show students and adults what we will see, and what foods we will eat.
If you already have students enrolled at this time, they can even help you with this recruitment process at the meeting. They want their friends with them on tour and your trip can just keep growing.
This is also a good chance to prepare the prospective travelers for what to expect overseas. I remind the students that we walk a ton (about 20,000 steps) per day and that comfortable shoes are crucial.
3. A pre-holiday meeting for gathering info
I like to do another meeting before winter break. By this point, I have just about everybody registered and my meeting shifts from recruitment to what to expect on tour. It’s also good to check in with parents to make sure everyone has their passport in hand, or that it is on its way. Therefore, if there is a student who has not yet applied for their passport, now is the time to convey a sense of urgency.
This is also a great time to suggest gift ideas for the holidays. If a student needs luggage, converters or even spending money for the trip, it’s a great reminder to parents that the holidays are a good time to get these or suggest these ideas to extended relatives.
I also use this meeting to pass out information packets to each family. The information in this packet is vital as a program leader. It lets me know of any medical conditions, allergies, or medicines each student may require. It includes a signed behavioral contract from both students and their guardians, including that there is to be no alcohol consumption on tour and students acknowledge that they will adhere to the school handbook while on tour. I also get the home, cell, and work numbers of their guardians. I even have a sheet where students let me know if they are adept in the water.
The last form is a roommate request sheet. I have them write whom they’ll room with in a double, triple, or quad. Having the information in hand earlier makes the trip much more manageable. The more you detailed you are in your preparation, the smoother the trip.
4. Getting the details down, and fundraising
I usually schedule the next meeting in early February, after midterms. At this point, the group is pretty much set and there is a palpable excitement as the departure day approaches.
This meeting is a good time to remind the students about money conversion, having enough chargers and adapters, and headphones. It’s also good to let parents know to inform their banks or credit card companies about the trip so accounts do not get frozen. I also remind the group to talk to their cell phone provider to explore international plans as the last thing parents will want is a huge cell phone bill awaiting them after the trip.
This is also the meeting to plan our major fundraiser. The past few years we have put together a co-ed volleyball tournament. Ideally, we hold it between the winter and spring sports seasons to maximize participation. The money we raise has gone towards the tip of the tour director, a soccer game, or a nice group lunch on our last day at the beach.
5. Pre-departure food fest
I hold this meeting about a week before we depart. Nothing brings a group together more than food, so that’s the focus of this final group meeting.
I use SignUpGenius for people to bring appetizers, entrees, desserts, drinks, etc. For the Spain trip, I’ll make Tortilla Espanola and Paella after school. I encourage the students to help me make those two dishes. For the UK trip this past April we had delicious desserts, cottage pie and one dad prepared homemade Irish Guinness stew. You can just picture the Italian feast one week before heading to Italy.
The amount of food is overwhelming, which means leftovers in the faculty room the next day, and teachers love free food.
The only business at the meeting is to figure out what time and where we meet before heading to the airport on departure day and offer the opportunity for parents to ask any last-minute questions. This is by far the most enjoyable of all my meetings. Food certainly helps!
Have questions about holding one or more parent meetings? Contact your program consultant for recruitment help!