Travel Opportunities for Students

Students can develop a global mindset by traveling! Encourage your students to apply for international travel grants, scholarships, and participate in various short term and long term travel experiences.  Here are a few of my favorites!
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I chaperoned my 1st EF tour to Austria, Switzerland, and Germany for Spring Break 2017.  The tour guides were AMAZING! They were knowledgeable, flexible, and provided our students with a fun, safe, and educational experience! What students read about in a textbook comes alive through these tours! Can be a little pricey, but tours are planned a year in advance and EF ensures that teacher chaperones do not have to deal with student money, as all payments are made online.  
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Summer in Switzerland (SIS) is a summer camp program at Leysin American School in Leysin, Switzerland.  The 3-7 week sessions (you choose) provides students ages 7-18 opportunity to travel throughout Switzerland with teaching staff and make friends from around the world!  Students attend morning classes (art, music, computers, world religions, etc.) then participate in afternoon and evening activities (dances, sports, arts and crafts, parapenting, horseback riding).  On weekends, groups travel to nearby Swiss cities to truly experience all regions of the small country.  Leysin is located in the French speaking region, but trips are scheduled to the German and Italian speaking regions as well.  Campers live in dorms, and are usually paired with a roommate from another country, to truly encourage intercultural communication!  Teaching staff and college students can also apply to work for the summer staff (Leysin was my home for 5 summers!)

This program provides financial support for educational summer experiences for students completing grades 7-12 and showcasing financial need (generally less than $50,000 combined parent income).  Applications come out in the fall and are due in March.  Watch the video on their site- IT'S SO INSPIRING!
ACIS offers a total of 8 travel scholarships each year to middle and high school participants that are registered for an ACIS tour. Students must submit entries in artwork, photography and writing.  Application are due by January 31, 2018.  The 2018 theme is "The World in Your World", encouraging students to focus their entries "how different cultures, communities, and places from around the world impact your daily life".  What a PERFECT THEME!
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Council On International Educational Exchange
CIEE provides multiple opportunities for student exchanges and travel through short term summer abroad or year long for high school and college students.  Plus- summer job opportunities for teachers!
SYTA Youth Foundation offers scholarships that provide financial assistance for students to attend class and youth group trips- which they wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.  The Road Scholarship is available to students K-12 and can be use for large trips to travel abroad. (maybe an EF tour??)