Vicki Davis

Turn Student Trips Into Curriculum‑Aligned, Fundable Experiences

🎥 Just shared on YouTube 👉 Five teachers — from a Laredo middle school to a rural Colorado ranch to a Denver biomedical pathway — share what really happens when you take students traveling. After 20 years of leading her own student trips, I wanted to produce a show with tips on how to travel with students, one that gives lots of ideas of the kinds of things (besides history and just fun) that you can do on trips including STEM and Career and Technical education. As you listen to the show, you'll get ideas for your middle and high school students and how you can travel (and even fundraise) as well as some practical tips I've learned over the past 20 years. 🎧 Show notes: https://t.co/4vluwxZrIL This episode is sponsored by EF Educational Tours. Learn more at https://t.co/9AdiyilHVL All opinions my own. 👉 What you'll learn: How to make international travel possible for kids whose families can't write a check Why curriculum-aligned trips create classroom moments that last for years How a rural ag teacher took 10 FFA kids to dairy farms in Ireland Practical safety, packing, and chaperone tips from teachers who've done it What a school principal looks for when picking a travel company 🧠 Strategies covered: EF's fundraising tools + scholarships for low-income students Aligning trip experiences to CTE pathways and IB programs Domestic trips as the on-ramp before going international The 10-minute buffer-zone rule for excursion call times Carrying passport copies, allergy lists, parent phone numbers — and a med kit CHAPTERS: 00:00 Sponsor: EF Educational Tours 00:34 Episode Overview 01:00 Vicki's Solo: Why I Travel With Students 03:34 Edith Cortez — Equity, Fundraising, and Laredo's First STEM Trip 12:12 Nolan Payne — 10 FFA Kids in an Irish Pasture 19:35 Vicki's Solo: Practical Tips Before You Go (food, water, passports, expectations) 22:47 Angela Cannava — The Quiet Student Who Came Home Transformed 39:53 Miranda Grabowski — Domestic Trips, Buffer Zones, and Trusted Adults 48:12 Karen Spencer — A Principal's View: Why Travel Is Part of Our Mission 55:24 Vicki's Wrap-Up: Mumbai and the Two-by-Four Notebook 56:30 Sponsor Outro & Sign-Off ABOUT THE GUESTS: Edith Cortez teaches 8th grade social studies at United South Middle School in Laredo, TX (14th year). Nolan Payne is an Ag Education teacher and FFA advisor at Miami-Yoder School in Rush, CO (15th year). Angela Cannava teaches Science and CTE at Northfield High School in Denver, CO (19th year). Miranda Grabowski teaches Biology at Austin High School in Austin, TX (8th year). Karen Spencer is principal at Parkview Baptist School in Baton Rouge, LA. If this episode was helpful, please leave a comment below and share it with a teacher who's been thinking about traveling with kids — your share helps the show reach more educators. #TravelingWithStudents #StudentTravel #EFTours #ExperientialLearning #FieldTrips #FFA #CareerAndTechnicalEducation #BiomedicalSciencesPathway #HOSA #InternationalEducation #TeacherPD #EdChat #CoolCatTeacherTalk https://t.co/vXr5YhtRBL