Thousands of teachers from all 50 states and several foreign countries have traveled with WorldStrides. Last year, nearly 200,000 elementary, middle, and high school students participated in a WorldStrides program … but they did not travel alone. The students, their teachers, and their parents were supported by 300 travel and education professionals working from twelve locations throughout the United States. As the nation’s oldest and largest provider of educational student travel programs, WorldStrides has continually demonstrated a commitment to education. This commitment, combined with our school’s continued growth within the educational field, is a testament to our financial stability and reliability. Educators who travel with WorldStrides recognize this, which is why so many return in subsequent years.
You can have as much fun as your students when you rely on WorldStrides to make your program a success.
- Most WorldStrides programs are non-school-sponsored, which means the school neither pays for nor plans the trip. You won’t spend time and energy on paperwork usually associated with traditional school field trip approval processes. This non-school-sponsored trip status provides additional protection for your administration. The registration letters given to students will clearly state that this is trip is sponsored by
WorldStrides and that all communication should come directly to our main campus, so parents call us with questions, not your school.
- You can trust that your students will be safe on a WorldStrides program. WorldStrides' unique safety network and preventive measures show our dedication to ensuring the safety of all program participants. We have a local presence in Washington, D.C., Williamsburg, New York, Florida, and Costa Rica that guarantees that a staff member is available to groups 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Students carry identification badges with emergency contact information throughout the program,so should the need arise, help is never more than a phone call away. Most of our programs include a night chaperone on every floor of your hotel, so you can rest easy knowing your group is safe.
- WorldStrides sets itself apart from the rest of the student travel field by offering students, educators, and chaperones an unmatched level of insurance coverage. As a Program Leader, you are automatically named as an insured person on our industry-leading liability insurance. By request, schools or school districts can also be added as additional insured. WorldStrides maintains the educational travel field's most extensive accident, medical, and dental insurance for all participants.
- Parents’ investments are secure through our USTOA Membership Benefit.
WorldStrides, as an Active Member of USTOA, is required to post $1 Million with
USTOA to be used to reimburse, in accordance with the terms and conditions of
the USTOA Travelers Assistance Program, the advance payments of WorldStrides
customers in the unlikely event of WorldStrides bankruptcy, insolvency or cessation of
business. Further, you should understand that the $1 Million posted by WorldStrides
may be sufficient to provide only a partial recovery of the advance payments received
by WorldStrides. Complete details of the USTOA Travelers Assistance Program may
be obtained by writing to USTOA at 275 Madison Avenue, Suite 2014, New York, New
York 10016, or by e-mail to information@ustoa.com or by visiting their website at
www.ustoa.com.
An enjoyable student travel program begins with the confidence that you, your students, and your community are protected. Ask your Educational Travel Specialist for a reference in your local area — there are thousands of teachers who will tell you traveling with WorldStrides makes a world of difference for their peace of mind.
To make the experience easy for you and meaningful for your students, WorldStrides provides a dedicated team of travel professionals. These destination and education experts work together to make your program a success from the time you decide to travel until your students return home safely. Before your educational travel program even begins, you will have a group of experts putting together a program that meets your goals.
Educational Travel Specialist – Helps you choose a program and travel dates that are best for you and your students, answers questions about WorldStrides and educational student travel, and gets you started by sending promotional information for you to distribute to your students.
Personal Account Manager – Plans your group’s individualized itinerary, answers your program or destination questions, and works with you throughout the pre-trip process to ensure that
you and your students have a great experience. Your Account Manager will also provide you with proven presentation materials for students, parents, and administrators. While most of your contact will be with your Account Manager, there are other behind-the-scenes specialists who help you build a successful program.
Account Support Representative – Assists in the preparation of your itinerary and logistical arrangements. Your Account Support Representative works directly with your Account Manager and can answer questions about your program if your Account Manager is unavailable.
Financial Services Representative – Handles all money collection and accounting functions for your group and answers your questions about billing, thus eliminating that task for you.
To provide a safe, well-organized program for you and your students, WorldStrides has a
whole team of people with you during your program. To maintain the
highest standards of service, we hire only the best, and you and your peers evaluate our
on-site teams each year.
Local Tour Central Offices (select programs) – Provide constant live support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tour Central Offices are staffed by professionals trained to handle any inquiry, request, or issue, so you’re never alone. When you call the toll-free number, you’re reaching out to a fully-equipped office, not just someone’s cell phone.
Course Leader – Guides your group during your program and makes learning fun for your students. WorldStrides' Course Leaders are all caring, certified guides and have all received additional training by our Director of Education.
Night Chaperone (most programs) – Guards every hotel floor your students stay on from late evening to early morning, so you sleep peacefully through the night.
On-site Coordinator (most programs) – Stays at your hotel during your entire program to facilitate your check-in and breakfasts and to ensure your entire stay goes smoothly.
Motorcoach Driver – Transports you to exciting destinations and interacts well with students.
Many have worked for WorldStrides for over 20 years and know our program, the destinations, and the local traffic patterns, making optimal use of your time.
Chaperone – Participates in the program with you and helps direct students. You can choose who chaperones your program with you — it could be your spouse, another educator, or any adult of your choice. We can customize our chaperone-to-student ratio to meet your group’s needs.
WorldStrides takes the worry out of student travel by supporting you with your personal
Account Manager, plus over 300 additional travel professionals working to make your
program easy, fun, and successful.
WorldStrides uses an exclusive, integrated approach to education that cannot be replicated in any other setting. All of the activities included in WorldStrides programs follow the same method of interactive learning. Each step of the Integrated Approach to Education is designed to take students from education standards to critical thinking. You can use as many or as few of these educational tools as you wish. WorldStrides combines knowledge development, experimentation, analysis, and critical thinking through the integrated approach to learning. Students use the knowledge acquired in the classroom to analyze the world around them and make a personal connection by applying their knowledge to their understanding and view of the future. The process incorporates multiple educational tools to create a comprehensive learning experience for students, starting at the time the teacher decides to travel and continuing to the group’s return to the classroom.
WorldStrides’ philosophy and approach to hands-on learning is guided by
our Director of Education. We strive to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who become leaders by developing challenging programs of experiential learning and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the country to become active, engaged, compassionate, and lifelong learners.
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