It’s the time of year when many schools offer student trips that involve international travel. With the terror attacks in Brussels and Paris, and concerns about student safety, some school leaders in Connecticut have had to make hard choices about whether to move forward with their travel plans.
Superintendent Bill McKersie said the town of Greenwich has always offered students lots of travel opportunities, both out-of-district and overseas.
"Post Paris, the tragedy that occurred in Paris this fall, I did have a statement out to the entire community that we would continue with all planned travel but we would evaluate every trip carefully and closely," McKersie said.
Twelve students were to go to Germany next week during spring break, but now after Brussels, McKersie said he has decided to cancel.
"The last thing we want to do in response to terrorism is change our lives," he said. "Post Brussels, and the proximity of the trip into Germany, and increased security concerns that we were hearing through United States State Department and other sources, we thought it was our best judgment for this trip -- not have it go."
McKersie plans to meet this week with families, but said his decision won’t change.
Meanwhile, in South Windsor, Superintendent Kate Carter said students have learned important lessons after their Paris trip was canceled.
"They certainly learned the important life lesson that as an adult, and as a student, that we often face very disappointing outcomes in life that are out of our control," Carter said.
Other school districts have decided to move forward with international travel to Europe. After consultation with parents, high school students from the New London STEM magnet will be traveling to Italy for ten days. They leave next Tuesday.
