Nashoba teacher proposes Puerto Rico field trip; committee told cost about $3,000 per student

A Nashoba Regional High School world language teacher presented a proposal for a language-and-culture field trip to Puerto Rico next April and told the School Committee the estimated cost would be roughly $3,000 per student.

Jimena Puñales Santiago said the program is intended to provide students with real-world practice in Spanish through bilingual tour guides, restaurant and community use of the language, and curricular connections. Committee members asked logistical questions about trip length, chaperone ratios and cost. "They are bilingual and yes, that's the idea," she said when asked whether tour guides would operate in Spanish.

In response to a question about cost, Puñales Santiago said she had researched several providers and found similar price points; one committee member noted the price was higher than some previous exchanges, and Puñales Santiago and administrators noted earlier exchange programs used homestays (which lowered lodging costs) while this trip uses hotel accommodations.

The trip was described as five days (one exchange participant said it involved "and five nights"), and Puñales Santiago said she planned to open the trip to 20 students for the first offering; the vendor proposes a chaperone ratio of one adult per five students. She said fundraising workshops for parents are available through the tour company and that the district uses mechanisms to offset costs for families with financial need based on past exchange practice.

The committee was told the trip will be placed on the consent agenda at the next meeting for formal approval; members thanked the teacher and staff for organizing the itinerary and noted the district is reestablishing travel programs that paused during the pandemic.

What’s next: the field trip will appear in the next meeting’s consent agenda; school staff will provide formal materials and cost details for committee review.