Board approves Angola High School international travel program, plans 2027 trip to Paris, Normandy and London

The MSD Steuben County school board voted to approve a proposed international travel program for Angola High School that is planned to run over spring break 2027, with an eight-day trip to Paris, Normandy and London organized by EF Tours.

Mr. Haven, presenting the proposal, said the trip would connect classroom learning — history, foreign language and even math — to real-world sites. “One of the teachers was even a math teacher to look at the Eiffel Tower and look how that was structured and use that as math,” Mr. Haven said.

The district described logistics and expectations: trips would require at least six students per chaperone and would be open to students from other county schools and to adult participants. The district gave sample costs: approximately $3,000 per student and $4,000 per adult if paid up front, or roughly $158 per month per student and $184 per month per adult if payments are spread over time; the cost was said to include airfare, hotel, meals, tours and insurance.

Mr. Haven said the trip would be run through EF Tours, which provides a tour guide and a travel specialist to handle bookings, insurance and on-site logistics. He said the earliest departure would be spring break 2027 to give families time to fundraise and plan.

Board members moved and approved the trip. A roll-call vote recorded members present voting in favor (Beard, Caswell, Maggart, Poore/Poore, Ridenour and Sturry). The motion passed and the district will conduct a call-out meeting for interested students and begin chaperone training and fundraising planning.

The board and district emphasized this would be a recurring program if continued: materials circulated by staff discuss additional future tours (Greece/Italy, Costa Rica) and other EF offerings for middle and high school groups.