RUMFORD – More than 100 SAD 43 students will be traveling in March and April thanks to approvals by the SAD 43 board Tuesday night.
Four field trips were approved as broadening or educationally related experiences for the Civil Rights Team, Spanish class, French class and youngsters in the after-school program.
The Civil Rights Team, now four years old, has grown to 30 members. They, along with about 15 other Mountain Valley High School students, will visit New York City on March 24 and 25.
Students have raised money for the $200 per person price tag through a grant and fundraising. The only cost to the district will be transportation to the Portland bus station. Nine chaperones will accompany the students.
Also, 30 Mountain Valley Middle School pupils will visit the 19th-century fishing village at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut on March 22-24. In addition to the historic village, pupils will visit a planetarium and several museums. Costs come from the 21st Century Grant. Five chaperones will accompany the pupils.
From April 7-9, about 30 students from Catherine Charles’ high school French classes will travel to Quebec City. Charles said the students have become pen pals with students attending Lac Megantic High School. They will visit the school on their way to Quebec City. Four chaperones will accompany the students.
Eight students from Mountain Valley High School and one from Telstar Regional High School in Bethel will travel to Spain and France from April 12-22. The students in Victoria Ojeda’s Spanish class will visit Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, and Paris, France. The district will provide transportation to the bus station. Two chaperones will accompany the students.
Virtually all board members approved the trips.
Randy Canwell of Mexico voted against trips that took students out of the country because of the greater security risks.
“I don’t think the district should have this responsibility. Someone needs to look out for the kids,” he said.
Students involved in all trips must get parental approval first, board member Diane Paterson said.
In other matters, Curriculum Coordinator Gloria Jenkins said the district received a $13,000 grant for professional development. Staff time will be used to continue work on revamping the high school math program. Jenkins said only five districts from the 26 that applied received the grant funding.
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