County Schools Revise Field Trip Guidelines

Rockbridge County school children will not be taking field trips within a month of taking their Standards of Learning tests.
Not taking trips at that time is seen by school officials as a way to concentrate on pre-test studies and, at the same time, save transportation expenses.

New guidelines for field trips were approved by the School Board last year, following the rising cost of fuel. The School Board amended the new guidelines Nov. 2 to reflect the moveable date of spring break. Previously, the guidelines had stated that no field trips would be approved within a month after spring break. The SOL testing dates are seen as a more permanent marker.

For the current school year, SOL testing will begin in county schools on May 11, 2010.

The new guidelines also limit whole-class, or grade, trips to one per grade, and, at the same time, give priority to trips involving a whole class, rather than an individual classroom. Also, shorter trips, including athletic contests and band trips, will be given priority over longer ones, as a way of reducing the nearly one million miles traveled by county buses each year.

End-of-year reward trips will be paid for by students, including the cost of fuel and transportation. Finally, local landmarks, such as Lee Chapel, Natural Bridge and the Natural Bridge Zoo, are presented as educational destinations for families — another way of relieving the hard-pressed school system.

This is part of the October 28, 2009 online edition of The News-Gazette.

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