JAY — Regional School Unit 73 directors approved an April 2028 Costa Rica trip for Spruce Mountain High School students after educators said this year’s Spain trip helped students build confidence, independence and responsibility through international travel.

The trip, proposed by Spruce Mountain High School teacher Jessica Ellingwood, would continue the district’s tradition of offering international travel about every two years, while shifting the focus from Europe to Costa Rica’s biodiversity, sustainability and Spanish-speaking culture.

Ellingwood said Costa Rica would offer students a different kind of learning experience.

“Costa Rica just offers some biodiversity and sustainability and a culture of peace,” Ellingwood said.

She said the trip would be nine days and eight nights, beginning on the East Coast near the Caribbean Sea and ending on the West Coast near the Pacific Ocean.

“That’s one of the reasons I chose Costa Rica,” Ellingwood said. “How amazing that you can see two bodies of water in the same trip.”

The proposal followed a presentation by Kim Bryant, who gave details about the trip to Spain in April. Bryant said the group included 27 students and raised $13,500 over two years.

“We explored thousands and thousands of years of history,” Bryant said. “We made countless memories and we walked a lot.”

Bryant said students visited Barcelona, Madrid and Toledo, saw historic art and architecture, tried new foods, learned flamenco dancing and practiced navigating unfamiliar places.

“For many of them that was the first time they’ve navigated not ever using a phone,” Bryant said. “So that was, like, terrifying and so exciting for them.”

She said students were given free time to eat, shop or explore, but had to return to designated meeting places at specific times.

“All of them were there on time and found where they needed to go,” Bryant said. “Most importantly, not a single student or adult missed a single meeting time in an entire eight days. That is like a miracle.”

Bryant said students learned lessons that cannot be taught in a classroom.

“History through experience, art through immersion, geography through navigation, communication through necessity, and confidence through independence,” Bryant said.

Ellingwood said she became emotional watching the Spain presentation because her family made sacrifices so she could travel to Germany when she was in high school.

“That wasn’t something that my family would have known how to do at that time,” Ellingwood said. “And so I’m excited that I could offer that to our Spruce Mountain High School students.”

Ellingwood said the Costa Rica trip would be open to juniors and seniors. Families would also be allowed to travel with the group.

The trip will include round-trip flights to Costa Rica, a private motor coach, hotels, breakfast and dinner, and activities, including a boat ride, snorkeling, hiking near a volcano and zip-lining over the forest, Ellingwood said.

She said the school would use EF Educational Tours, the travel company used for previous trips, and there would be six students per Spruce Mountain chaperone.

Ellingwood said she understood the cost would be significant for families.

“We don’t take lightly that this is a huge amount of money for some of these families to come up with,” Ellingwood said.

Bryant clarified that fundraising helps reduce extra costs, but does not pay the full cost of travel for students.

“We try to make it as affordable as we can, but we don’t want people to think they’re going to be able to go for free because it just doesn’t happen,” Bryant said.

Ellingwood said EF offers a zero-interest payment plan, and students and families can put money toward the trip over time.

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