Bridgetown Middle School Washington DC Trip Busing

As the Parents of future Bridgetown Middle School students, we are demanding that you allow the less expensive option of busing for the Washington DC Trip.  As this is a school trip, we as parents should be given the option to ensure that every student has the opportunity to attend this very important trip.

As it stands, parents are not allowed to chaperone this trip.  Teachers are able to attend the trip for free and earn their required continuing education credits by attending.  We are told that busing is not considered because teachers to not want to go on buses.  

 

Cost Comparison:

  • 2017 DC trip on a plane with World Strides: $1366 (with $100 early bird discount). This is the trip offered by Bridgetown.
  • 2017 DC trip on a bus with World Strides: Approximately $850. This amount is based on a general estimate from World Strides. A representative from one of the middle schools could easily get an accurate quote from them. The itinerary for the World Strides bus trip is identical to the World Strides plane trip.
  • 2017 DC trip on a bus with Croswell Tours: $669. The itinerary on the Croswell Tour would be different than the current itinerary, but they are willing to customize the trip.

Estimated Travel Time Comparison Between Flying and Driving From Bridgetown Middle School to DC:

  • Southwest flight from Dayton: 7 to 9.25 hours (60-75 minutes to Dayton Airport, 3-4 hours at the Dayton Airport to get the students through security, bags checked, and wait at the gate, flight time is at least 1 hour, 2-3 hours to get students off the plane, collect baggage and drive to hotel in DC). 
  • Southwest flight from Columbus: 8 to 10 hours (2 hours to Columbus Airport, 3-4 hours at the Columbus Airport to get the students through security, bags checked, and wait at the gate, flight time is at least 1 hour, 2-3 hours to get students off the plane, collect baggage and drive to hotel in DC).
  • Bus Trip: 9.25 hours (It is 8 hours and 40 minutes without any stops. Most bus tours will stop one time to change drivers, get gas, and use the restrooms. If the stop is 30 minutes long and there is no traffic, the total travel time would be just over 9 hours.)

 Miscellaneous:

  • Other area middle schools already take a bus trip to Washington, DC and spend hundreds of dollars less than the families in our district.
  • World Strides offers continuing education credit to all teachers on the trip. World Strides claims to be the only tour company with that offer. This is a quick and free way for the teachers to get their required continuing education credit.
  • World Strides does offer scholarships to cover the cost of some of the trip. Not all students are guaranteed to receive a scholarship.
  • The district states that it is safer for the students to fly versus drive. However, the students will be on a bus for 2 to 3 hours each way and on a bus throughout their time in Washington, DC. The district has not provided any information to prove that a plane is safer than a bus.
  • The district likes that this is a first flight for some students. In some cases, the kids and parents may not want their first flight to be on a school trip. This trip is about educating the students about our nations’ history, not about getting our students on an airplane for the first time.
  • With a bus trip, the students load themselves and their belongings on the bus once. With a plane trip, they have to get themselves and their bags on the bus at school, off the bus at the airport, through airport security, on the plane, through baggage claim, on a bus at the airport, and then off the bus at the hotel.
  • A plane trip could result in cancelled or delayed flights. A bus trip could be delayed due to traffic. 
  • From the Columbus airport, Washington, DC is only another 6.5 hours away by bus.
  • Reducing the cost of the trip would allow more students to attend this incredible experience and reduce the financial burden on the families and students that are attending.

Parents of Future BMS Students    Contact the author of the petition