First Times + 4 Wins

Travelling to DC with 23 5th graders

There is nothing quite like experiencing travel through the eyes of a child who had never before been on a plane let alone maybe has never been away from home for an overnight. This weekend I have the pleasure of taking 23 5th graders with 4 amazing chaperones from our 4 different elementary schools on a trip the Washington DC. These kids all earned their right to be on this trip- they competed with their classmates by completing a task where they had to identify a community problem and consider different solutions to share with their Congressman. Some students wrote letters others created posters and individually they presented their findings to a panel of local judges. Here is a link to their call to action.

With the help of our amazing ELOP-Student Travel Coordinator, Ms. Marissa we designed a short DC trip (Thursday-Sunday) for these students to go and meet with their Congressional representatives at the Capitol Building, visit the Smithsonian, take a day trip to Mt. Vernon all before Sunday. The trip came about as a result of me being accepted to speak at the Festival of Education, USA at the British School in DC- I thought how fun it would be to connect the conference to a trip- and with the help of extended learning opportunity dollars, our coordinator and the 5th grade teachers voila- it is happening. (Win #1- Fully Funded Trip in part due to ELOP funds)

Our four schools are scattered across 3 counties- one group had to leave their school by 5:30am to get to the airport on time. All the students were given explicit packing instructions, Ms. Marissa held zoom calls with the parents and talked with the teams selected to come. Students and chaperones traveled by our Vista vans from their schools to LAX- We met at the airport by 9am ahead of our 12:30pm flight. Marissa and I secured the boarding passes, checked our one over weight suitcase packed with the CapriSuns for the dinner when we land.

Together we went through security- a couple of students experienced their bags being checked and had to have their toothpaste, hair products and other liquid items tossed. Next I showed them the departure/arrival information board and then we walked through the terminal 4 maze to get to our gate. We found a place to camp for a bit before chairs near the gate opened up.

We hung out at the airport and eventually found an area with seats. The terminal was packed due to all the construction- but the kids were troopers and stayed put. I and one of teachers went on a scavenger hunt to get coffee from Starbucks- where we placed an order for 5 drinks totalling more than $50- crazy.

I scored us getting on the plane before our group number- lucky to have a club card. The kids lined up and together we found our seats- I and Leo muscled their bags above the bins- and everyone sat in their assigned seats- got to love 5th grade. As we prepared for take off there was that first time excitement towards not knowing what to expect. As the plane made its way to the runway and then accelerated there was a breath the kids took- only the expression from a child- we adults were in stitches… similarly when we experienced turbulence and then when the plane landed- I wish I did an audio recording.

Eventually we got to the hotel- late and once we were all checked in the domino pizzas arrived- we distributed them to each of their rooms and they had their own pizza parties and were told to go to bed. After a final check I went around to the rooms taping their doors to just signal to them to stay put.

Next morning we woke and were at breakfast by 7:30am- all the kids met their chaperones at the elevator and together went downstairs. When we entered the restaurant the staff greeted the kids with smiles. Students said to one another “Wow- I have never seen so many options…. come look at these eggs… what do we do if we want something to drink?…could we have anything we want? ” Dining with them was a lot of fun- they responded to the staff with a “please” and “thank you” and genuinely liked the food. (Win #2- new experiences for everyone)

By 8:15am we were ready to head out to for our day’s outing. We walked up to the offices of the Capitol building where we had three appointments- each school met with reps from their Federal Government representative. After going through the security to the office building I reminded the students that this is NOT a tourist area and that people are working here for them. We went to the directory board to locate the offices. One school group’s office was not listed on the directory so I asked the custodian and he graciously led that group off for the 9am appointment down through a tunnel to the next building .5 miles away. I went with Team Lago to visit Rep Calvert’s office where we were received by Marshall, the legislative analyst. Marshall was very kind and listened to each of the students sharing their community concerns and followed up by stating the student’s name and highlighting the key idea he captured from what they shared. He listened with intent. Then we opened it up to questions- Marshall shared that he learned about government and his interests in the space also on his 5th grade trip 18 years ago. Wheels were spinning in our students’ minds as they listened and looked around. One student asked Marshall “What is Rep Calvert doing about ICE, the kind that does not melt?” Marshall responded “I can’t talk on behalf of the Rep but I do believe there have been several tragic events and if the local agencies worked with ICE then we could avoid these.” His response represented a different perspective to that of our students- elevating the importance of our Portrait of a Graduate and the 4 Global Competencies. (Win #3- Students taking action)

After our visits we trekked to the Archives where students saw first hand the Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, Constitution and the Bill of Rights- Many did not know very much about any of these documents- as they are only at the beginning of 5th grade and history has not been our strong suit. Hopefully when they look back there will be impact. For some just the trek was new, and then we had to trek back to the Capitol where we had lunch and a tour scheduled.

Our tour guide was amazing- young woman who shared the history of the building with passion that was very attainable for the students- they asked questions and answered her questions with enthusiasm. She moved our group through the hallways showing us the original chambers of the supreme court, explained the significance of all the statues and the art work.

After the Capitol visit including an ‘exit through the gift store’ we pushed on to get a taste of the Smithsonian Museums. I started with the chaperones to determine which one they were interested in investigating, then I gave the kids a choice. The two options because they were on the way towards the hotel were: the Native American and the Air and Space. I went with the team to the Air and Space and challenged the students to learn 3 interesting facts to share back with their classmates at home. This set the bar to at least get them in – looking around and wondering about flight, space and all of it…. By this point they were exhausted- perfect timing to head back to the hotel where dinner will be served.

The next day- is Win #4. The kids went to Mt. Vernon for a day long adventure with their chaperones and I and Karen went to our Festival of Learning conference at the British School in Washington, DC. The night before I did sneak away to a speakers invite get together and had the opportunity of meeting some folks which made the next day a friendly environment to dive into. The Festival was great- with making good connections and getting validation for the work we at Vista are doing. I wrote a separate blog about the learning. Ultimately it was really nourishing to be in an international setting with educators from around the world all talking the same priorities and willing to engage in deeper levels of thinking.

The kids had fun at Mt. Vernon and at the end of the day we all went to dinner together where they showed me their pictures and told me some tales they learned on their visit.

The trip ended with an early morning departure at 6am- breakfast served at 5:30am special for us. This time going through the airport, security and all the kids were pros and knew exactly what to expect. The TSA agents asked the kids if they knew the others and double checked that they were safe- nice follow up to make sure there was no human trafficking happening. We boarded the plane and the flight attendants were so impressed with our group that the secured flight wings for all the kids at the end of the flight.

Overall the trip was a success and I believe it will lead to a handful of future politicians- maybe even a President in 2050 or so.