school field trip chaperone guidelines

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Helpful Tips for Chaperoning School Field Trips

Learn how to be an informed chaperone on your child's class trip, while also doing your part to keep the kids safe, engaged, and under control..

Being a parent chaperone on your child's school field trip can be a wonderful experience for both of you. Here are some practical tips for being a responsible and effective volunteer for the class.

Know the Plan Before you leave, discuss the itinerary, logistics, and any chaperone guidelines with the teacher in charge. If you can, get this information ahead of time and familiarize yourself with it before the trip. Ask how many kids you will be responsible for (usually 5-10, depending on their ages and your destination) and learn their names as soon as you can. Make sure you're clear on meeting and meal times — especially for going home — and if you're responsible for your own admission charges. You should also find out if any of the children have a medical or behavioral problem you should be aware of and what the ramifications might be. Be clear on the school's disciplinary policy and what to do in case a child gets lost. Ask the teacher if there are certain exhibits, shows, or displays that should not be missed.

Come Prepared Bring enough cash for food, extras, or admission fees. Though you're not responsible for paying for your charges, you never know who might forget her money or lunch. Throw a few band-aids and some bottled water in your bag, too. Dress appropriately for the destination and wear comfortable shoes. A cell phone can be an excellent helper if you have one, but keep it turned off.

Show Up Believe it or not, one of the biggest problems teachers face is parents who cancel the morning of the trip or simply don't show up. If you have to cancel, try to give the teacher as much notice as possible and help her find a replacement. Many teachers will book more chaperones than needed for this very reason.

Be Focused Remember your primary concern is to make sure kids are safe and help them enjoy themselves. Model good behavior and professionalism — after all, your group is an ambassador for your school. Avoid discussing your child's progress or other irrelevant topics with the teacher during the trip. By riding the bus, following the tour, and eating with your charges, you not only help maintain their safety but keep them involved in the trip. If you have other children, leave them at home. Avoid smoking in front of the students. Pay attention, be on time, and follow directions. Keep your voice at a moderate level and be courteous.

Establish a Rapport While you need to keep your group under control, remember this is not a military exercise. Be firm about important issues — running off from the group, horseplay, behavior that bothers others — but let minor infractions slide. After all, learning is supposed to be fun! When a child breaks a rule, try to pull him aside rather than reprimand him publicly, but don't be afraid to discipline when necessary. While it's important for you to be respected, you don't have to be liked.

Staying Safe If you stick with the group and keep kids away from potential hazards, you should be in good shape. Take frequent head counts, particularly when moving to a new location. Learn the names and faces of each child in your care, and be sure they know you too. When your group travels, space adults out so that there's always a grownup in front, behind, and in the middle of the group. When you reach your destination, find out where you can go for first aid and the location of the bathrooms, but be sure to let the teacher know before you take any child away from the group. Be clear on what to do in the event of an emergency.

Help Teach Engage your charges in the trip by asking thought-provoking questions that help them discuss what they see, rather than test what they know. If you can, involve all the students in your group — the shyer ones may take a bit longer to participate in discussions. Be careful not to interrupt the guide or teacher and try not to contradict any information they convey.

Stay Positive Your enthusiasm and interest may be infectious. Keep the kids as engaged as you can, participate in the activities, and support the teacher and/or guides' decisions. If you do disagree with something they say, speak to them about it privately. Compliment kids on good behavior and thank guides for their help.

Keep in Good Communication If there's a serious problem, let the teacher know as soon as you can. While you should discipline where you can, let the teacher be the ultimate boss.

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Preparing Parent Chaperones for a Field Trip

Even with eyes in the backs of our heads, we need back up.

Even though teachers have “eyes in the back of their heads,” we can’t be everywhere during field trips, so responsible parent chaperones are a must to safely and successfully extend students’ learning outside the classroom. Dominique recently asked the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE! for advice on preparing parent chaperones. Here are some do’s and don’ts to ensure your parent chaperones are well equipped to help you provide a safe, stress-free and spectacular field trip experience!

Do write out important information. Prepare an informational sheet that lists: students’ names, itinerary, departure location, goals for the trip, emergency contact information and any other important instructions your chaperones should know.

Do explain roles and responsibilities. Have a brief meeting with chaperones before you leave school to set expectations. “Too many parents want to chaperone to be ‘buddies’ with the kids rather than to help them stay safe and learn.”–Scott  “I ask them to be responsible for monitoring all students that are assigned to them at all times. They need to be cognizant of departure times and inform me of any problems that may have taken place on the trip.”–Angelique

Do give out an emergency contact number. Make sure chaperones know how to contact you in the event of an emergency. If you aren’t comfortable giving out your personal cell phone number, find out if your school has a pre-paid phone you can take with you. If not, you can use a program like Google Voice. “I use Google Voice. It rings to my cell, and my personal number is still personal.”–Elena

Don’t underestimate cell phone usage. Some chaperones may end up doing more texting and talking on their cell phones than supervising students. “I generally say something like this: ‘Please pay close attention to the students in your group. Once, on a field trip, my parent volunteers got so busy talking to each other and on their cell phones, they weren’t paying much attention to the students! It made me super nervous!’ It comes out sounding caring but not controlling.”–Lydia

Don’t assume chaperones are in the clear. Some districts require parents to undergo a background check prior to supervising students on a field trip. “Check and see if your district has a set policy… I had to get a background check done before I could go as a chaperone for my granddaughter’s class.”–Susan

Don’t forget say, “Thank you!” Remember that field trips aren’t possible without parent volunteers. Make sure you give parents your heartfelt thanks for their time and effort to make the day a success!

Also, be sure to check out our Best Field Trip Ideas for Every Age and Interest (Virtual Options Too!)

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Chaperoning a Student Trip

It is great that you’re interested in chaperoning a student trip. Thank you! Your role is to help get the kids safely and happily through the challenges of their action-packed itineraries. You are an extension of trip leadership and a liaison to it for the students. Teachers will have high expectations of you, and your number one reason for being on a trip is to support the leaders and kids.  As a chaperone, you must always focus on what’s best for the group, even if your student is on the trip.

An effective chaperone is one who is fair, firm, and consistent. You must be comfortable with students of varying ages and backgrounds, and familiar with the school’s behavioral expectations. Some of the best chaperones come from booster organizations – those actively involved with the program. The travel goal is that students enjoy the trip and participate in valuable educational and social opportunities.  All adult chaperones must work together to make the goal become the reality.

An essential trait for anyone chaperoning school performance trips is a genuine comfort with and desire to interact with high school and middle school students. Chaperone responsibilities are substantial: a rapid, non-stop series of constant duties, day and night, throughout the trip. Planners always strive to make trips safe, enjoyable, educational, and memorable for student performers.  But no good chaperone should view a band/choir/orchestra trip as a vacation.

The 4 keys to being a good chaperone are: Energy ,  Positive Mental Attitude , Flexibility , and Good Leadership :

• Energy – You are up before the students in the morning and go to bed after everyone else. You are present for every part of the trip. You make sure your students show up for breakfast, get on the bus, and you make sure they are ready for the next activity. You are their ‘Mom or Dad’ away from home. You need to be able to keep up with it all with a smile on your face.
• Positive Mental Attitude – The mood of the group will be influenced by your attitude. If you’re in a great mood, the kids will feed off your energy. If you’re tired or frustrated, the kids will feel that and it will influence how they perceive their trip.
• Flexibility – It is so important be able to calmly handle the changes that WILL come up on a trip, and to be mindful of expectations. Educational Destinations Tour Directors will do everything in their power to make things run smoothly, but changes will happen and every chaperone needs to be able to roll with them.
• Good Leadership – Even though today’s kids are very independent, they still look to adults for guidance, especially when they are out of their comfort zones. When they get excited or upset or tired and cranky, you having a calm, mature voice of reason is crucial. The Directors rely on chaperones to respect and support the decisions that have been made and the itineraries that have been developed.

Additional Notes:

• Please know that your Educational Destinations Tour Director is not a chaperone. He or she can alert you to a problem, but she or he cannot discipline or otherwise correct student or adult behavior.  Please do not ask your tour director to address the noise level on the coach, profanity from students or other adults, or any rules infractions. If your intervention does not fix the situation, it should be immediately brought to the attention of the Director/Staff.
• Understand that some venues and events limit the number of chaperones allowed to participate. This is not a Educational Destinations rule, but one set by the festival, workshop or performance site organizers. For example, only an couple of chaperones are allowed into backstage rehearsals at Carnegie Hall or into a workshop at Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
• Chaperoning can be abundantly rewarding. If you are a good chaperone, you will form lifelong bonds with the students and the other adults with whom you travel. You might not have much downtime, but you will help to shape the lives of so many teenagers, to be there and share in some of their once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Rewards like that don’t get much better!

Pre-Trip Tips for Preparing Chaperones:

Reading motor coach, hotel, and behavior rules several days before the trip will ensure that chaperones, staff and everyone else is on the same page. Educational Destinations recommends that school staff and all chaperones (and all students and other adults, if possible) familiarize themselves with the following topics before trip departure:

• Review school trip rules so the chaperones are thoroughly familiar with them. Make every effort to assure that the rules will be firmly supported by every adult on the trip.
• Be clear about expectations for adult behavior on the school trip. Because it is an extended “field trip,” smoking and drinking are not allowed. Chaperones must be on time for activities, stay with their student group at all times, and be good role models.
• Go over the trip itinerary, emphasizing the learning experiences and trip highlights, to set expectations and enable chaperones to create a memorable tour. Remind  chaperones of their responsibilities at the trip check-in, on the bus, in the hotel, at meal times and at attractions.
• Discuss the types of problems and discipline that can arise on a school trip, emphasizing which ones chaperones have authority to handle and which should be referred to school staff.
• Pass along tips to chaperones about working with the student age group. Suggest chaperones meet their group members before, or at the onset of the trip. Stress that the chaperones’ role is to be an authority figure, not a buddy to the students. Let the chaperones know that experienced teachers and staff will have their backs and help them during the whole the trip.
• It’s very important to review emergency procedures that could occur during the trip. Explain the chain of command – chaperones report to staff, who in turn report to the Educational Destinations Tour Director and/or school administrator. Group leaders and chaperones should exchange cell phone numbers so they can be in constant communication while touring.
• Talk about nighttime security procedures at the hotel. Some groups have Educational Destinations hire a local security firm to monitor student rooms overnight, so all chaperones can sleep.  Other groups assign chaperones to one or two hour shifts from bed check in the evening until awakening in the morning.  Regardless, Educational Destinations recommends that chaperones check the student room(s) assigned to them to make sure that everyone is present before “lights out.”  And, chaperones should wake the students in the morning.  Note: During room check, chaperones should ALWAYS physically ID each student assigned to that room.

Chaperone duties and rules may also include:

• Responsibilty for an assigned group of students during the trip.
• Mandatory attendance at all pre-trip and on-trip chaperone meetings.
• Before the trip, may personally contact a parent of each student in their assigned group, to share trip details, answer questions and gather necessary student information.
• Compile an emergency contact list and communication plan for assigned group.
• Assist Band Director and Head Chaperone with pre-trip details as needed.
• Attend all group functions during the trip.
• Make sure assigned students are to breakfast on time.
• Check that all your students have all required items needed for each day’s events.
• Work with other chaperones to be sure all daytime activities and nighttime halls monitoring are supervised.
• Assist with motor coach (and plane or ship or rail) loading and attendance.
• Assist with uniform/costume distribution and collection.
• Assist with equipment loading, unloading, and handling as needed.
• Assist with snack and meal preparation, serving and clean-up.
• Provide TLC when needed – always!
• Be clear about the chain of command, and what chaperones may, and may not, do in discipline situations.
• Report all problems to the Head Chaperone or Teacher.
• Report all dress code violations or concerns to the Head Chaperone.  The Teacher ONLY is responsible to address this issue with a student.
• If non-performing siblings of students are part of the traveling group, establish who is responsible for them and their behavior. Generally, chaperones are not expected to supervise or take care of non-performers.
• Mandatory on student trips: No smoking, consumption of alcohol or use of illegal substances by a chaperone will be tolerated.

Questions about chaperoning school trips or have advice to add? Feel free to email us or call 800.616.1112 .

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Teri Aitchison

Rest assured, if the unpredictable happens, your Teri is there, ready to tackle the unpredictable and get your trip back on track. When it comes to tour directing, Teri Aitchison is ready to treat you to an awesome trip, starting with that wonderful smile. Teri’s warm personality and impressive experience record are a plus to have with any group. It is rare to find someone who is this great at tour directing, but also so likable that groups are sad to see her go at the end of a trip.

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5 tips for picking the best chaperones for your school field trip.

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Teachers who have traveled with their students before know that chaperones are the backbone of a school trip.

Choosing the right chaperones will set you up for success to make sure that your field trip will run smoothly and efficiently.

When you are selecting chaperones for your school field trip, make sure to consider these 5 important things:

1. Reliable and Trustworthy

Your chaperones are your eyes, ears and extra hands and feet to make sure that your students are safe during the field trip.

You should do your best to find a chaperone who is reliable – someone that you know you can count on to pitch in and follow the plan for the trip.

Timeliness is so important when coordinating groups of students for a field trip, so you should be able to trust that your chaperones will be on time, with the students they are responsible for, at the location they are supposed to be meeting at.

If there is an emergency at 3AM on your school trip, you should be able to trust your chaperones to pitch in with whatever actions need to be taken for the success of the trip.

Your chaperones are an extension of you. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable with them assisting in your classroom, you shouldn’t bring them with you on a class field trip.

2. Travel Experience

If you are traveling with your students, make sure your chaperones have experience traveling.

It is good to have travel experts with you who know what is needed to prepare and coordinate students for airport security, have experience taking public transportation and understand how to navigate in a new city or place.

The last thing that you need when wrangling students together for a school trip is to have chaperones who need help and supervision.

3. Make Expectations Clear

The school field trip is for the students, NOT the chaperones.

Set expectations ahead of time that outline the role that your chaperone will play on the field trip. This means that chaperones might miss out on some of the more “fun” aspects of the trip that are meant to stimulate student learning and creativity.

Make sure that chaperones understand that these experiences are meant to benefit the students, not the chaperones. It can be a common mistake that some chaperones might equate their role with a “free trip,” but these are not the chaperones that you want taking responsibility for your students on your school trip.

4. Diversity

Try to include diversity in your selection so that you will have chaperones that relate to each of your students.

This is especially relevant for students who are participating in a school trip out of town. For many of the students, this may be the first time they are away from their family for an extended period of time. It is important that they feel there is someone on the trip that they can relate to and come to, even if you are unavailable, during the experience.

5. Listening and Focus

Your chaperones should be active listeners who are attuned to the needs of the students. They should listen to students concerns that are voiced out loud, but also recognize body language to tell if a student needs help or is stressed.

Sometimes this might mean that they are responsible for student discipline on the trip. Make sure you explain ahead of time what discipline responsibilities your chaperones will have on the field trip and what measures should be taken if rules are broken.

At the end of the day, chaperoning a school field trip is a job with responsibilities. Make sure those you select are focused on carrying out their role to the best of their abilities.

It’s okay to be selective when picking chaperones for your school trip! After all, it is your responsibility to make sure that your students are in good hands for their experience.

With the right chaperones by your side, you can execute a fantastic field trip your students will remember for the rest of their lives!

Ready to plan your school’s field trip? Check out our workshops in Arts & Humanities , Science & Technology , Leadership & Innovation and Performing Arts at our East Campus in Walt Disney World and our West Campus in Disneyland Resort for a discovery of real-world application of these concepts in our popular Parks and Resorts. Sign up for our e-newsletter to stay up to date on all things Disney Imagination Campus and explore all our academic workshops to see how we inspire imagination-powered learning.

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How Successful Trip Leaders Organize Chaperones

Chaperones play a critical role in the smooth operation of a school trip and are an asset for ensuring student safety. However, parents, teachers, and school staff all volunteer to chaperone with different expectations of what the role entails. Responsibilities and duties must be clearly communicated for chaperones to be effective on a school trip.

What are these responsibilities? What makes for the best team of chaperones?

Chaperones   are   carefully   selected.

• If teachers will not be chaperoning, does your school require additional clearances for parents?
• Consider your hotel room arrangements. Do the genders of your chaperones accommodate the occupancy (quad, triple, double) of your trip agreement ?
• Can you trust this chaperone? Are they attending the trip for the right reasons ?

If the genders of your chaperones do not accommodate the occupancy of your agreement, a paid supplement may be required.  Plan ahead if clearances are needed. These can often take weeks or months to process.

Chaperones   understand   their   roles   and   duties   before   the  trip.

• Hold a meeting before the trip to communicate expectations .
• Assign specific duties to each chaperone.

Chaperones are often very eager to help, but they need to be pointed in the right direction. Your trip will run much smoother if specific duties are communicated early and often.  Otherwise, chaperones may be along “for the ride” and add further chaos and confusion during the trip.

Chaperones  get   to   know   their   destination  ahead  of  time.

• Provide chaperones with destination maps , either in hard-copy or by sending a link via email.
• If there are special procedures for a destination site (such as security), provide chaperones with the appropriate information.
• Provide chaperones with an extra copy of the itinerary.

If it is a chaperone’s first visit to your destination, maps and other informative materials can relieve initial anxiety and tension. The more familiar your team is with the sites and regulations, the more helpful they will be on the trip. Hard copies of materials are more likely to be reviewed during the bus ride to your destination.

• 30 Washington DC Maps
• 15 Chicago Maps
• 20 New York City Maps

Chaperones   are   connected   by   phone   and  group  messages.

• Create a list of chaperone cell phone numbers for each bus.
• Distribute the phone list to each chaperone to program in their phones.
• Create a chaperone group text message list to send meeting time reminders or use Remind to send for free.

Keeping communication open and easy between the chaperones on your bus will increase the efficiency of your trip. If you are in a crowded or noisy place and the bus leader cannot hear their phone ring, chaperones will be able to contact another chaperone.  If a chaperone is running late to a meeting location, multiple options exist to contact. Bus leaders with a chaperone group message service in place can send easy reminders or change of plan notifications. Each of these communication measures can save valuable time on a trip.

Chaperones   are   assigned   to   a   specific   set   of   students.

• All students in this group should be on the same bus as the chaperone.
• Assign students by hotel room. One to three hotel rooms (4-12 students) is a manageable number of students per chaperone.
• Clearly communicate that chaperones will be in charge of these students at the hotel, on the bus, and while visiting your destination.
• Organize your chaperone groups.

Chaperone groups make the trip easier to manage. Instead of all chaperones trying to supervise all students at the same time, chaperones have a defined subset of students to monitor.

Chaperone groups make moving between sites a fast and easy process . When it is time to move, students quickly find their assigned chaperone. If a student isn’t present, the assigned chaperone knows immediately who is absent. This save dramatic amounts of time compared to counting students in one large group or lining up students to count.

Chaperones   are   strategically   placed   on   the   motor   coach.

• The Bus Leader should be seated in the front seat of the bus.
• Chaperones should be evenly distributed throughout the bus to supervise students.
• Seat chaperones near their assigned group of students.
• Assign one chaperone to do the overall bus head count every time the bus is loaded. See how this saves time .

An even distribution of chaperones throughout the bus ensures that students are well-supervised. Head counts are expedited if students are seated near their assigned chaperones. Chaperones will easily recognize if any of their assigned students are absent. This can save dramatic amounts of time (not to mention headaches!) during a trip.

Chaperones   are   strategically  placed  while  touring.

• Chaperones should be spaced at the front, middle, and back when the group is walking between sites.
• Chaperones should prevent line gaps from forming by encouraging students to keep pace.

Spacing chaperones throughout the group ensures that students are both well-supervised and keeping up with the pace of the group. Often, several students will walk slowly at the back of the line or in the middle. This slows the entire group down and causes the tour leader to wait to give commentary or check the group in at a site. Large line gaps may also be crossed by other tour groups or tourists, causing the group to split. When repeated often, this can cause the group to lose precious tour time.

Chaperones   have   specific   duties   at   hotel   check-in.

• Assign a chaperone to coordinate luggage unloading from the bus.
• Assign a chaperone to stand near the stairwell or elevator as students enter to direct students and encourage quiet.
• Assign a chaperone to be stationed in the hotel hallway to direct students to their rooms and encourage quiet.
• Assign a chaperone to distribute room keys to students.

Having a defined hotel check-in plan will minimize chaos for both students and chaperones. Placing chaperones throughout the hotel will make check-in an efficient process. Encouraging students to remain quiet will communicate respect to other hotel guests.

Chaperones   are   in   charge   of   wake-up   calls   and   breakfast.

• Arrange a group wake-up call with the hotel.
• Have chaperones follow-up with a knock on the door for their assigned students.
• Have chaperones confirm that their assigned students had breakfast.

Students often need more than one wake-up call. You can divide and conquer the wake-up calls by assigning students to chaperones by hotel room.   This gives you, the group leader, more time in the morning without overburdening the chaperones.

Communicating clear roles and responsibilities to chaperones will ensure that they are informed and ready to be of assistance during the trip. This will greatly improve trip organization, save precious time, and make for an overall more enjoyable experience.

• Trip Leader

Best Practices for Chaperoning a Field Trip

One of the most underrated aspects of field trips is the contributions made by its chaperones. Setting and understanding with chaperones beforehand is incredibly important, they must understand that they are NOT on a vacation and that they DO have responsibilities. Our TripWheel is here to assist all our trip sponsors with this specific topic along with everything in planning the perfect field trip!

Chaperones must have an understanding that is in line with the vision for the field trip. This allows for you to lend more energy towards getting the most out of the experience for your students than spending time and energy regulating and correcting. Here are some best practices to share with your chaperones to help ensure they are helping as effectively as possible. 

Understand the Plan

• Priority number 1 is to be aligned on all aspects of the trip; this includes:
• Attendance 
•  Itinerary 
•  Logistics 
•  Meal plans 
• Rest Breaks 
• Health precautions for your group 
• Crisis management measures

 All chaperones must be able to have a base understanding of each component of the trip so they can serve as a guide in the event the primary leader is otherwise occupied

Put Safety at the Forefront

• Make it a point to keep safety top of mind, this includes:
• Head counts when transitioning to new stations
• Frequent wellness checks with students throughout trip 
• Upon arriving to different areas always look for exits, bathrooms and first aid stations
• Be clear on emergency plans of action

Build Relationships 

• Being a chaperone means helping to protect against significant threats, not policing every possible infraction – it is important to create a fun learning experience for students that allows for engaging dialogue and an enjoyable learning environment
• Staying positive helps to also encourage good behavior and then affirming that good behavior with compliments and acknowledgment helps to create an environment where students are actively participating in their learning experience.
• Don’t be afraid to help teach – helping to teach shows students that you are genuinely interested in them and displays your care and seriousness for the trip itself. 

Communication is Key 

• Very simply, chaperones should always communicate with teachers and guides on the various topics of concern, staying aligned and on the same page. 

We hope this guide gave you a solid foundation for best practices when chaperoning a field trip and are excited for you to put these things into action in your own way. 

Are you planning your next field trip soon? If you want a personalized experience tailored to your students, please don’t hesitate to call Student Adventures at 1.877.873.7550 or email us at [email protected]!

Be sure to visit our website for more information on school trips and some destinations worth touring!