Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has already been covered. The only feeder schools that have 5th grade trips (outside the continental U.S.) are Stokes and DC Bilingual.

LAMB also has a fifth grade trip outside the continental USA based on that other thread. How is that different from what I said. mV does not have a fifth grade, so they may or may not decide to have a trip. MV is a question mark as it is not ripe. YY goes to NYC?There are only five schools that feed into DCI. This accounts for all five schools.

LAMB HAD a trip one year - several years ago. Not anymore. Cost and energy required to fundraise for it (instead of for things benefitting entire school was a major factor in discontinuing it.

Thanks for correcting this PP (you beat me to it). As a said before, only 2 feeder schools offer trips outside the continental U.S. Before you correct anyone, please check your facts.

Thank you first PP. As I stated in my earlier post, my info came from an earlier thread where this info was posted. Thanks for the update and your correction is well received.

PP number two. Will do bitch

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Basically it all boils down to this: In the first 2 years of the trip (because this is the 3rd year, correct?), did any low income families who were willing to send their child without a parent NOT receive adequate funding to go? Maybe I've misunderstood, but my understanding was that a family that could show financial hardship for sending their child would have their child's trip covered. The big issue was families not wanting the child to go alone, although a couple of kids have gone without a parent (but of course with chaperones). So has any child in the 1st 2 years had their family say "We can't afford to send our child" and the school didn't pay for that child's trip?

If you asked the school directly whether there was additional funding for low income families beyond the scholarship and fundraising, the answer was no. Not necessarily criticizing the school for that -- there were a number of reasons for it, I think -- but I don't want to assume that everyone who did not go on the trip did so because they couldn't afford the cost of the parent trip.

Also, in response to another post above, the size of the trip this year meant less funds raised per student. It's also not clear what the fundraising total will be until many payments have already been required.

Finally, there are other costs and challenges related to getting a passport, visa, travel vaccines, etc. that may be challenging for low income families.

I'm not against the trip, by the way. Just think it's important to be clear about the financial picture.

Wow. I guess at this stage, after this year, the trip will be a thing of the past anyway... but if what you say is true, it rings huge huge alarms about stratification that I hadn't been aware of on this issue before. I thought all low income students were guaranteed to be able to go. If that was not the case, wow, I dunno that just seems horrifically unfair to low income students when pretty much even middle-income parents were struggling to raise all the money. The model you are describing pretty much guarantees everyone in the lowest SES groups at the school will not be able to go - how else do they raise the money to go?

I'm not happy the trip is gone, but if it was this unfair, I understand that it's more fair for all if it's not a school-supported event.

Life isn't fair. I would really like to take a private jet to china that I can't afford. Maybe the PA will pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has already been covered. The only feeder schools that have 5th grade trips (outside the continental U.S.) are Stokes and DC Bilingual.

LAMB also has a fifth grade trip outside the continental USA based on that other thread. How is that different from what I said. mV does not have a fifth grade, so they may or may not decide to have a trip. MV is a question mark as it is not ripe. YY goes to NYC?There are only five schools that feed into DCI. This accounts for all five schools.

LAMB HAD a trip one year - several years ago. Not anymore. Cost and energy required to fundraise for it (instead of for things benefitting entire school was a major factor in discontinuing it.

Thanks for correcting this PP (you beat me to it). As a said before, only 2 feeder schools offer trips outside the continental U.S. Before you correct anyone, please check your facts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has already been covered. The only feeder schools that have 5th grade trips (outside the continental U.S.) are Stokes and DC Bilingual.

LAMB also has a fifth grade trip outside the continental USA based on that other thread. How is that different from what I said. mV does not have a fifth grade, so they may or may not decide to have a trip. MV is a question mark as it is not ripe. YY goes to NYC?There are only five schools that feed into DCI. This accounts for all five schools.

LAMB HAD a trip one year - several years ago. Not anymore. Cost and energy required to fundraise for it (instead of for things benefitting entire school was a major factor in discontinuing it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has already been covered. The only feeder schools that have 5th grade trips (outside the continental U.S.) are Stokes and DC Bilingual.

LAMB also has a fifth grade trip outside the continental USA based on that other thread. How is that different from what I said. mV does not have a fifth grade, so they may or may not decide to have a trip. MV is a question mark as it is not ripe. YY goes to NYC?There are only five schools that feed into DCI. This accounts for all five schools.

Anonymous wrote:This has already been covered. The only feeder schools that have 5th grade trips (outside the continental U.S.) are Stokes and DC Bilingual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Basically it all boils down to this: In the first 2 years of the trip (because this is the 3rd year, correct?), did any low income families who were willing to send their child without a parent NOT receive adequate funding to go? Maybe I've misunderstood, but my understanding was that a family that could show financial hardship for sending their child would have their child's trip covered. The big issue was families not wanting the child to go alone, although a couple of kids have gone without a parent (but of course with chaperones). So has any child in the 1st 2 years had their family say "We can't afford to send our child" and the school didn't pay for that child's trip?

If you asked the school directly whether there was additional funding for low income families beyond the scholarship and fundraising, the answer was no. Not necessarily criticizing the school for that -- there were a number of reasons for it, I think -- but I don't want to assume that everyone who did not go on the trip did so because they couldn't afford the cost of the parent trip.

Also, in response to another post above, the size of the trip this year meant less funds raised per student. It's also not clear what the fundraising total will be until many payments have already been required.

Finally, there are other costs and challenges related to getting a passport, visa, travel vaccines, etc. that may be challenging for low income families.

I'm not against the trip, by the way. Just think it's important to be clear about the financial picture.

Wow. I guess at this stage, after this year, the trip will be a thing of the past anyway... but if what you say is true, it rings huge huge alarms about stratification that I hadn't been aware of on this issue before. I thought all low income students were guaranteed to be able to go. If that was not the case, wow, I dunno that just seems horrifically unfair to low income students when pretty much even middle-income parents were struggling to raise all the money. The model you are describing pretty much guarantees everyone in the lowest SES groups at the school will not be able to go - how else do they raise the money to go?

I'm not happy the trip is gone, but if it was this unfair, I understand that it's more fair for all if it's not a school-supported event.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you invite Chinese kids to stay at your house, you'll probably be invited back!

This is a very good idea. Why is not like every YY parent not hosting a chinese exchange student?

Most have au pairs

Chinese au pairs?

Yes

It is a huge exaggeration to say that most YY parents have Chinese au pairs. Some, sure. But I just posted and as I said we do not have an extra bedroom for an au pair, which is a requirement of the program. And we cannot afford a bigger house.

None of our friends at the school have Chinese au pairs either but I admit it's a small circle.

I have a pretty good-sized circle of parent friends at YY, and none of us has an au pair (Chinese or otherwise) either. It is a giant exaggeration to say most do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5th grade is too young for a class trip to China, accompanied by a parent or not.

Why is it too young for a class trip to China with parents? Costs aside, explain why this is too young an age if parents can go?

It's too young for a CLASS trip that is this big of a deal. If you want to take your own kids and go as a family, great. But this is too young to be hauling a class of kids halfway around the world, when some of them (many?) most likely aren't even ready to appreciate it. Poll them, and I bet they'd rather go to Disney World.[/quote inset

Disney world does not appeal to most fifth graders. Your kid must be PK.

All the other feeder schools have fifth grade trips to Costa Rica, st martinique, and puerta Rico. MV has not had a rising fifth grade class yet, so don't know if they will have such a trip.

This has already been covered. The only feeder schools that have 5th grade trips (outside the continental U.S.) are Stokes and DC Bilingual.