Schools chief reverses course on camping trip

WEST WHITELAND » Peirce Middle School students will likely continue a 49-year tradition and again participate in an annual seventh-grade camping trip to Cape Henlopen, Delaware.

West Chester Area School District Superintendent Jim Scanlon reversed course and made the decision after receiving “fervent feedback” regarding the cancellation, according to a letter sent Thursday to parents.

Scanlon said that liability concerns and a disruption in learning had led to the cancellation of the three-day trip.

Many in a group of more than 100 community members, former students, parents and

camp counselors shed a tear at a recent meeting where the group collectively lobbied Scanlon to change his mind. The district takes 41 overnight trips annually and all are attended by high schoolers except the Peirce trip.

Of those trips, the Cape trip is the only one where adults are sleeping in the same rooms with students, and the only one where the school brings and prepares the food, Scanlon said.

Scanlon said the overnight trip might continue if it is moved to Friday through Sunday rather than half of the students attending during each of two three-day periods during the week. Teachers would volunteer their time like they do on other weekend overnight trips.

This would limit disruption and the need for as many qualified substitute teachers, which are hard to employ, especially in May, Scanlon said.

“There is not a lot of instruction taking place for the kids back in school,” Scanlon said.

In a bid to reduce liability concerns, a caterer might be hired to serve meals rather than staffers cooking for the students. The cost paid by parents would increase by about $40.

The superintendent also suggested moving the trip from May to the fall. This would give students and teachers something to build on during the school year.

“Similar trips were canceled at our other two middle schools, Stetson and Fugett, in previous years, for the same reasons,” Scanlon wrote in the letter to parents. “I have always recognized the value in this trip, and I’d like to find a way to preserve some of the experience while minimizing the liability and disruption to the instructional week.”

Scanlon continued: “As I mentioned in my meeting with parents, the trip causes a fair amount of disruption to instruction – not just for the students on the trip, but for staff, as well. I have been very vocal about my opposition to excessive standardized testing and I always support programs in our schools that provide the kinds of valuable skills and experiences that can’t be measured on tests.

“The trip takes our seventh-grade teaching team to Delaware for the entire week, but half of our seventh graders are in class, being taught by substitutes. Some of our eighthgrade teachers also attend the trip, and substitutes are required for them, as well.”

Scanlon said the district recognizes the community’s love of the annual excursion.

“Again, I do believe the trip has great value, but it’s hard to justify an entire week out of class when we have also just come off of weeks of PSSA testing (also time out of class.),” Scanlon wrote. “I am also recommending that we run the program much like we do other club activities, forming an ‘Outdoor Education Club.’”

“Students can join if they choose. According to our club policy, a staff member or a parent can serve as the club advisor. This is the way our clubs operate when they take trips (Model United Nations, Mock Trial, Speech and Peirce Middle School Parents -2- July 12, 2018 Debate Team, Ski Club, etc.)

“Additional parents will likely be needed to supervise the trip, since not all staff members may be able to donate their time on a weekend. I’m recommending that a committee of parents and staff be formed to work out details for how the trip might continue with these parameters.

“Dr. Sara Missett, director of secondary education, will convene that group in the fall and will reach out to the Peirce community with meeting dates and details.”