DisneyLoverUSA
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2011
For 3 nights that is more than $500 per day. That's a lot. If he has already been to D.C I wouldn't pay that. I can take myself and 3 kids to D.C for 5 or 6 days for that much money.
WorldStrides has been handling our middle school's 8th grade DC trips for several years. Our son went during 8th grade spring break (March of this year.) We have also had numerous friends with older kids that have done the WorldStrides trip.It is common here for eighth grade students to go on a trip to Washington DC. When I taught middle school I chaperoned several trips and I think it was a good experience for the students. One of the teachers "sponsored" it by organizing it with a reputable tour company and got other teachers (usually) to chaperone. We always went for six days/ five nights and it was over Spring Break. The kids (parents) paid under $1000 to go and it included airfare/food/hotel/transportation and any entrance fees.
So fast forward fifteen years and now I have an eighth grade son. He came home very excited about the eighth grade trip to Washington DC, even though he has been there with us. I'm thinking we will probably send him anyway, since I think it is a good experience and memory.
Then I read the information about the trip... 4 days/3 nights in early June and for quadruple occupancy they are charging $1700! I realize prices have gone up in fifteen years but wow! And that is for only 2 full days in DC. I was expecting about $1200.
The tour company is Worldstrides. I haven't researched them yet but wondered if anyone was familiar with them. I'm not sure if we will send my son or not.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone else does the eighth grade Washington DC trip and how long it is and how much it costs.
They didn't switch it. You were being punished.they switched it to Baltimore for the day.
Our Middle School stopped offering the overnight trip to Washington DC back in the early 2000s. They had a particularly rowdy group one year and that was all it took. My son did a day trip with his class (I was called in at the last minute to chaperone a group too) and it went fine. But I could see why it must have been hard on the chaperones when they did it overnight. Many of those kids refused to listen to directions.
If my kid had a trip that was over $1000 in eighth grade, I highly doubt we would have had him participate.
Plus, there are guards outside the kids rooms at night for added safety.
That's way too much money. Almost everything in DC is free. Even if you go on the Duckie tour or the tourmobile, you can't get anywhere near that amount. I'm guessing it's a 100% markup, meaning the cost is about $850.
Finally, I don't understand why schools seem to feel compelled to offer, and sometimes, assume that parents actually want 8th graders to travel across the country on a "field trip".
This ......
Someone should start a thread on what a single adult(not 4 kids to a room) can do for $1700 a week. I would imagine one could stay at an all inclusive in the carribean or go on a cruise for 7 days for this price. Like someone else posted I could probably take my family to DC for 5 days for an amount close to that.