SAUGUS – Say “bon voyage” and “arrivederci” to the town’s high school students as they prepare to jet off to France and Italy this Spring.
The School Committee approved the high school’s travel program to renew after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 health crisis for the past two years.
“Over the past 15 to 20 years, Saugus has built an incredibly impressive student travel program. We have sent dozens of kids to hundreds of countries on four different continents,” said Richard Lavoie, a teacher at the Saugus Middle-High School who runs the high school’s travel program. “When we talk about things we need to improve with public education, we all know those things. The things we don’t want to lose are the things that make us special.”
The School will be using EF Educational Tours, based in Cambridge, as a program designed to help teachers change their students’ lives through travel. The company designs and pre-plans educational travel tours, emphasizing knowledge and safety.
“One of my former travelers is in Florence right now; he’s there by himself and I’d like to think it was one of our trips that gave him the confidence to do such a thing,” said Lavoie. “This is the experience we build at Saugus High School ― it’s not just in the classroom, it’s on the ground.”
The last trip planned by the high school was in March 2020. Lavoie canceled the trip two days before the United States government recalled all Americans back to the United States.
“We did it ahead of the game, knowing the writing on the wall,” said Lavoie.
After two years of no trips, only one student, who had not graduated yet, remained of the original travel cohort. This student chose this year’s trip to Italy and France. The trip will take place in April of 2022, but no specific dates have been confirmed yet.
The trip will look different this year, with COVID safety chiefly in mind. One example of adjustments made for the age of COVID is that the trip, which originally consisted of taking a train from Rome to Paris, was replaced by a plane ride. Lavoie shared that, due to COVID-19 protocols, an airplane is a safer travel environment due to mask mandates and better air circulation.
EF has its own share of COVID protocols as well. If a student tests positive on their trip, EF will pay for them to stay and quarantine, and will additionally compensate the teacher who stays with them. EF would also pay for the child’s parent or guardian to fly out. EF also requires 100 percent vaccination for travel
“I support Mr. Lavioe’s trips, specifically because we are working to return the important rituals and routines to the Saugus Middle-High School, the Belmonte STEAM academy, and the Veterans Early Learning Center that really make kids feel at home and welcomed in our schools, and this is just another opportunity for that to happen,” said Superintendent of Schools Erin MacMahon.
