This is one of the most important early elements in organizing your program. It is crucial to not only inform families about your travel opportunity, but to also make sure they have all their questions answered and concerns addressed. That's where we come in! We will help you host the meeting to make sure you are as supported as possible.
In addition, there are a few important things to remember when organizing your initial meeting:
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Cast a wide net. The more people that know about your trip, the more excitement and momentum will build in your school and community. One of the first things you can consider is enlisting another teacher or group of teachers to help you organize and recruit for the program. Then, it's important to invite as many students and families to attend as you feel comfortable. Limiting yourself to a finite group might leave some students feeling left out.
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Advertise around school. We will provide you with personalized flyers and posters to help get the word out!
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Identify your core group. Once you've gotten a solid core of student interested in the program, enlist them to help you spread the word to their friends. Many times joining a program like this has a social component for students and hearing that their friends are traveling is likely to help you grow interest.
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Get students excited! Think about ways in which you can weave the trip into your curriculum, or relate past, present and future lessons to the valuable aspects of the program you're planning.
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Facetime with parents. Be it during back to school night, parent-teacher conferences or another appropriate setting, it's crucial that you spend time speaking directly to parents about the trip and why you believe it to be valuable for their child. Plan your meeting for a weeknight that you feel is the best fit.