Establishing rapport and a cooperative working relationship with parents is essential to any teacher, but it’s especially important to the first-year teacher, whose inexperience may be an issue for some parents. Once you’ve finalized your educational tour itinerary it will be time to start recruiting students, and their parents, to sign up.
You can get off on the right foot with a welcome letter, sent to the parents of each student on your class list. Mail the letters a week or two before school starts. If that’s not possible, send it home with students on the first day of school. You might include information about yourself, a list of supplies students will need to bring from home, volunteer opportunities like being a chaperone for your travel program, a curriculum overview or syllabus including the dates you’re planning to travel, and your school phone number and school e-mail address.
When it comes time to have your parent meeting and make your pitch for the tour you’ve put together for your students, their parents will be more open and excited about sending their child on tour with you. Your Explorica travel consultant will help by providing all the resources (including a beautiful presentation about the company and printed materials) you need to be successful.
Now’s the time to: Connect with a travel mentor. Sometimes the best teaching is done peer-to-peer. At Explorica, we embrace this teaching philosophy through Teacher to Teacher (T2T), our training and mentorship program for new group leaders. Join a vibrant community and connect with teachers from across the country, who share your passion for education and belief that travel is an invaluable life experience.
Complete our online form or call us at 1.888.310.7120 to join our T2T mentorship program.