Now that New Trier’s study abroad program registrations have closed, wealthier students who can afford such trips have the opportunity to receive extra course credit over the summer while many lower-income kids are left behind.
One such program is the trip to Oxford, organized by English teacher Brent Strom. On the fairness of the expensive extra credit opportunity, Strom explained that participants receive General Ed credit as opposed to English credit.
“It doesn’t fulfill any kind of requirement in the sense that you don’t have to go do this program in order to pass high school,” he said.
Strom added that the school offers many other, more affordable and more local programs. One of these programs is the far less expensive Shakespeare-centered trip to Stratford, Ontario. Students spend three days watching plays and participating in workshops, but receieve no academic credit.
There is another free way to receive credit. According to Strom, a senior Shakespeare course is offered in which students learn exactly what they’d learn at Oxford.
Like the Oxford students, those participating in the school’s China trip also receive half a summer school credit. Chinese teacher and organizer of the trip Julia Kessel acknowledged that this isn’t fair to those who can’t afford to go.
“In this community, there are many opportunities to explore abroad,” she said. “Lower-income areas may not have the same options.”
However, Kessel did say that every year, the school tries to lower the price to enable more students to come. For example, they try to take trains rather than planes when travelling through China.
Senior Liz Parsons, a participant in last year’s China trip, thought that the school could have lowered the price even more. She explained that every one of their hotels was rated four or five stars.
The problem is that scholarships and financial aid are widely unavailable for these trips. This leaves many kids behind and denies them the opportunity to enrich their transcripts through a public school activity.
The Oxford trip, for example, costs around $4,000. Financial aid and scholarships are unavailable. Strom explained that New Trier has tried to get many different foundations to help out, but that financial aid is reserved for events which affect hundreds of students. Because the trip’s maximum capacity is 24, no foundation has agreed to help. Strom recognized that this high cost might keep some students from participating and that “it’s an unfortunate part of the trip.”
Junior Beth Wall, who travelled to Oxford last summer, said that the food portions on the trip were large and therefore expensive. Wall thought that if the portions were smaller, it could have decreased the cost considerably. But otherwise, she thought the price was justified considering the rest of the activities.
Students interested in the China trip face a similar expense of $3,500, but scholarships were offered last year for the first time. Kessel explained that the minimum requirement of thirteen participants was not met, so she found two half scholarships, each sponsored by the Global Exchange Club. This allowed two more kids to go, filling their quota.
Unfortunately, Kessel said that when enough students sign up, which is usually the case, no scholarships are offered. She added that many students don’t even consider the trip because of the high price tag.
Unlike the China and Oxford trips, the music trip to Italy this coming spring break is more supportive of students’ finances. Music department chair Peter Rosheger explained that of the 120 students going, those who are unable to meet the $3,900 cost requirement receive help from the school and the Fine Arts Association.
On top of that, the music students organized a fundraiser this October, called the Play-A-Thon. 90% of the money raised went to the student’s individual tour fund.
This strong financial support exists even though students do not receive any credit for the trip. Therefore, they wouldn’t be left out of the opportunity to enrich their transcripts if they couldn’t afford it.
But Rosheger explained that the group travelling to Italy requires “integrity of the ensemble,” meaning that most, if not all, of the musicians need to be present in order to perform well. Thus, there’s a reason the Music Department tries to allow as many students to travel as possible.
To do that, the music department talks individually to those who can’t participate or might be embarrassed to ask for support, making sure they know that the school offers help. Regarding kids’ reluctance to ask for financial aid, Rosheger said it’s usually not a problem.
Rosheger said, “We’re usually able to overcome that hurdle.”