Overnight school trips - Chaperones

wgeo

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 2, 2011
I recently went on a 5 night school trip that unfortunately had problems with both student and chaperone behavior. Ignoring the student issues for the moment, I'm trying to think how the school can avoid chaperone issues in the future. My first thought was that they didn't set up very clear expectations about chaperoning beforehand.

Does anyone's school actually provide informational sheets/guidelines specifically aimed at the chaperones? We had a quick 10 minute meeting after the mandatory parent/student meeting where we could ask a few questions but that was it. I think if people went in with more appropriate expectations it would help. The staff has asked me to provide an idea of things that would have been helpful from the chaperone standpoint and I'm just looking for any feedback or ideas that other schools might provide. Thx

I do want to say - we had 16 chaperones and 12 were amazing but not always on the same page, but they worked their tales off and I just don't want to seem like I'm disparaging them - even though they'd never read this. :)
 
It's hard to answer you question without knowing what you mean by: had problems with both student and chaperone behavior.

To me that sounds like someone misbehaved and did not act responsibly. But then you go on to talk about some working their tails off and expectations.

So I can't really tell if some chaperones just didn't do anything or was it a behavior issue such as getting drunk at Happy hour or something.
 
DH and I chaperoned a high school band trip to WDW and two years later we unofficially chaperoned a band trip to Disneyland. It wasn't a walk in the park. As unofficial chaperones we were on hand when one of the girls was sick to her stomach so we drove her and a chaperone back to the hotel in our mini-van. It was more comfortable than a bus, which wasn't available anyway. Turns out the girl was hung over from boozing the night before. Good thing she didn't throw up in our van or I would've been beyond furious. And yes, the band director had done an open luggage check looking for booze before the suitcases were loaded onto the bus.

At WDW we stayed at a high-rise hotel with other bands and some of our chaperones slept in front of the elevator doors so kids from other school staying on other floors couldn't "visit" our kids during the night.

The kids had lots of free time at the parks and they usually showed up at the bus at the end of the day, but there's always someone who didn't follow directions to find the meeting point.

As far as I know, the chaperones did their best.
 


I recently went on a 5 night school trip that unfortunately had problems with both student and chaperone behavior. Ignoring the student issues for the moment, I'm trying to think how the school can avoid chaperone issues in the future. My first thought was that they didn't set up very clear expectations about chaperoning beforehand.

Does anyone's school actually provide informational sheets/guidelines specifically aimed at the chaperones? We had a quick 10 minute meeting after the mandatory parent/student meeting where we could ask a few questions but that was it. I think if people went in with more appropriate expectations it would help. The staff has asked me to provide an idea of things that would have been helpful from the chaperone standpoint and I'm just looking for any feedback or ideas that other schools might provide. Thx

I do want to say - we had 16 chaperones and 12 were amazing but not always on the same page, but they worked their tales off and I just don't want to seem like I'm disparaging them - even though they'd never read this. :)

I helped coordinate our band trip to Disney years ago. Our band teacher was quite strict on expectations and was right with us when choosing parent chaperones. Once picked we had a couple of meetings with them with those expectations for their roles on the trip. We hired security guards at the hotel (offsite)to also help with any situations or just plain safety of our students. Except for a sick student here and there I don't recall any major issues. It was a wonderful magical trip! :earsgirl::earsboy:
 
What problems with chaperone behavior?

I've never chaperoned an overnight trip but I have chaperoned many field trips through the years. I think the expectations are pretty clear, you are there for one purpose. It was clear that some parents were just there to enjoy a day trip with their child, and while nothing was over the top wrong, they just didn't take their chaperone responsibility seriously.

Our schools do not allow parents on the overnight trips- teachers only. Probably to avoid the kind of things you had to deal with.
 
Thanks everyone. I'm not particularly looking to rehash what the poor behavior was. It's in the past. What I'm wondering is what other schools do to properly set expectations ahead of time. My real question was "Does anyone's school actually provide informational sheets/guidelines specifically aimed at the chaperones? "

Kitty mentioned that they had multiple meetings with the chaperones beforehand which I think would be helpful, and could hopefully alleviate some of what Hikergirl mentioned about how some chaperone's take their job more seriously than others.

I'm trying to put together a written informational sheet for future trips, as we start to plan the next trip because I'm the type of person that thinks more information/awareness is better.
 


I chaperoned ONE time on an overnight trip. It was so stressful for me! Basically, take a busload of hormonal teenagers and hope fo the best. LOL. The rules fo the kids were WELL laid out in advance. And, that included NO being in each other's rooms, period, end of discussion. Any "meetings" between students not in the same room had to be in public spaces, and during defined hours. Outside of that, and consequences would be meted out, up to and including suspension from school. After "lights out" time, we went around (not known to the students) and placed tape on all the doors. Early in the morning (like before 6) another chaperone went out and checked that all tapes were still in place (removing them actually). And, a chaperone (designated, and we switched off) went out and walked the halls every hour. Yes, it was painful and not a good night's sleep (but each chaperone did only have to do it once), but worth it to know the kids were "safe." The rules for chaperones were less clear, although the expectations above were laid out in advance. We also discussed that there would be no drinking (even though we were at restaurants where alcohol was served and we paid for our own expenses), no illicit drugs, etc. Common sense stuff.
 
I recently went on a 5 night school trip that unfortunately had problems with both student and chaperone behavior. Ignoring the student issues for the moment, I'm trying to think how the school can avoid chaperone issues in the future. My first thought was that they didn't set up very clear expectations about chaperoning beforehand.

Does anyone's school actually provide informational sheets/guidelines specifically aimed at the chaperones? We had a quick 10 minute meeting after the mandatory parent/student meeting where we could ask a few questions but that was it. I think if people went in with more appropriate expectations it would help. The staff has asked me to provide an idea of things that would have been helpful from the chaperone standpoint and I'm just looking for any feedback or ideas that other schools might provide. Thx

I do want to say - we had 16 chaperones and 12 were amazing but not always on the same page, but they worked their tales off and I just don't want to seem like I'm disparaging them - even though they'd never read this. :)

When I did chaperoning for the girls band/color guard trips, we always had meetings with the parents and students about expected behaviors, at the beginning of the year, and again before events. The band parents groups (I was VP for 3 years) worked with the teacher/school to make a code of conduct, and if they didn't sign, they didn't go. If parents broke the rules, they weren't allowed back as chaperones; if students, they weren't allowed to go on trips without a parent. Only had 1 student in 3 years that had to have a parent chaperone especially for them, and only banned 2 parents from chaperoning....

We were allowed X number of chaperone spots. If you signed up and didn't show, you weren't allowed to sign up again (unless you had a good reason, like being at the hospital or having to work; didn't wake up or just didn't feel like wasn't going to fly). We had to have Y number of chaperones, so what we would do is have 2 or 3 back up chaperones; if they were needed, they chaperoned.

Drinking was not allowed at all on the trips; didn't matter if you were an adult. No drugs (duh). Medical forms, for chaperones and students, were turned in at the beginning of the year, and needed to be maintained. No medical form, no trip. Also, volunteer forms/background checks (required from the school district) must be current. Medications had to be checked in with teacher and the head chaperone for that trip (usually one or two parents with medical backgrounds); students/parents could keep their meds, but the med chaperone/teachers had to be aware.

Uniforms had to be clean and pressed. When not in uniform, clothing for students had to meet school rules (so no booty shorts, for example.) and preferred band tshirt.

Chaperones needed to be dressed appropriately (so again, no booty shorts). At events, chaperones had to be in their band shirts and wear a volunteer badge. Chaperones needed to be available to their students and teachers at all time, either in person or via cell phone or hotel phone.

Students and chaperones had to attend all events. Students were responsible for their music and equipment, as well as their personal items. We gently discouraged bringing any electronics other than a cell phone; cell phones were taken from students before events and returned after (no distractions). Personal items (jackets, bags, etc) were left on the bus or in the equipment trailer during events. I always had a big bag that the students could leave their items in, if needed (especially female students).

Chaperones got into events free with the band. If a parent wasn't signed in as a chaperone for that event, they had to pay to enter.

Chaperones had # of students to cover; they needed to know where their students were at all times. If students weren't with their chaperone, they needed to be in at least pairs, and at least one of the pairs needed to have a cell phone and answer any texts/calls from the chaperone/teacher. Teachers had to be available at all times to their students/chaperones.

Unless there was an official meal set, students could eat what they wanted, where they wanted, depending on what was available in the area. We didn't monitor their food choices, but we did provide water (we got them each refillable water bottles with the school logo, and we used those big orange 5 gallon water coolers with ice) and pushed them drinking it during events.

Overnight trips: Curfew was 10pm for students, 11pm for parents. No running around the hotels, be courteous of other people, etc. Curfew meant in their own rooms, not their buddy's. We booked 2 chaperones per room, same sex only unless a couple was chaperoning. Students could be up to 4 in a room, same sex only, depending on # of beds. Students could choose their roommates, but if there were issues, the band teacher could assign spots. Chaperones and teachers had to have lists of who was in what room. Bed checks were performed by chaperones at 10pm.


it seems like a bunch of hard nose rules for a volunteer position, but with ANY group, you have to clear expectations or there is chaos. We had similar rules for other group events, like Scouting (boys and girls) and sports; some were a bit more relaxed, others more tight laced, but they all included specific requirements and expectations.
 
Been around these type of events for along time. My wife was heavily involved with our high school band program. The teacher was fairly organized, at times, but it really came from the parental leadership. The small board established the protocol and recruited volunteers. The District required background checks and pretty much a policy of two adults together at anytime.

There were various duties while on the trips; from food prep, security, medical and overnight. There was one simple sheet that was developed by the teacher and enhanced by the volunteers so it was pretty clear what was expected and needed. Expectations/rules for the staff are important, but leadership not only from the teacher but the parents is important.

The students knew the rules and for the most part didn't cause problems, it was pretty much one and done if you broke the rules. Adults were the same, there were a couple that were not allowed or invited back to Chaperone again.
 
I have chaperoned overnight band trips a few times. The band members themselves were always held to very high expectations for behavior at every event, and this attitude permeated to everyone involved. Although the days were long, we never worried about bad behavior from the students and never had any problems.

Chaperones were chosen by the Director from the regular chaperone/volunteer list, so they were all people that had a proven track record. If you didn't volunteer to work concessions or take a three hour bus ride each way to chaperone a football game, you couldn't then be chosen to attend the fun trip to NYC.

We did meet in advance but there was no formal process and this group there didn't need to be.
 
I chaperoned two trips with DS.
First in Junior High to a Science Camp. 4 nights. The camp, which was independent of the school set up guidelines for chaperons. Basically we were on duty for about 22 hours a day. We got 2 one hour breaks to shower and rest each day. There was one chaperon per 6 students in each "cabin" (basically a glorified Tuff shed).

Second was High School. Varsity Baseball team went to a tournament (600 miles each way by bus) in Las Vegas. 7 nights. No expectations were given to us other than the coach said "yes, we are taking 19 teenage boys from a Catholic High School to Sin City for 8 days"
 
Last year, ODD went on a choir trip for 3 days. Travel was by bus and they stayed 2 nights in a hotel. I did not chaperone, but the general rules were:

  • permission slips and medication forms must be filled out and provided ahead of time.
  • If your kid had medications he/she needed and/or had a food allergy, speak in person to your kid's assigned chaperone the morning your kid gets on the bus. In addition, the chaperone will contact by phone or email ahead of time to speak with you and get any pertinent details about the medical condition or allergy.
  • 1 parent assigned to chaperone 4 kids.
  • same gender only in a hotel room. Only girls or only boys.
  • Chaperones not allowed to enter the hotel room. Can only stand in the doorway.
  • At 10 pm, chaperones collect ALL of the electronic devices from the kids. Chaperones required to charge all of those devices in their hotel room overnight.
  • Chaperone provides wake up call, knocking on the kids' door following morning.
  • Kids not allowed to leave the room after lights out. Chaperones monitored hourly and, like another poster mentioned, put tape on the door in order to prevent anybody from exploring.
  • Due to age bracket (13 and under), each chaperone was to remain with his/her assigned 4 kids at all times except for night time.
  • The obvious stuff...no drugs, no smoking, no drinking.
  • Chaperones not allowed to drink alcohol at any time.
  • Chaperones had a couple of chaperone-only meetings with the choir directors in the weeks leading up to the trip.
  • In addition, there was a mandatory parents meeting for all parents whose kids would be going on the trip. Meeting was about 45 min long. Choir kids had to go, too. Explained the itinerary, expected behavior, what to pack, what to leave at home, etc.
  • Each chaperone was also in charge of keeping the contact info for his/her 4 assigned kids. So my kid's chaperone, for example, started a group text at the start of the trip and texted us all photos periodically & told us how things were going.
 
I just read this and smiled... as I have been there done that... and gotten several appreciation plaques to prove it... being a chaperone or a team mom, or the leader is not for the faint of heart... this is a job and under taking to be responsible for others kids...

I have been a girl scout assistant leader, which turned into a leader... as the leader never much showed up - elementary school
Home room mom, from kindergarten to 6 grade... 7 thru 9th room parent guide,
I have been a dance mom - and all that entail's - 2 nd grade thru middle school
Team mom, Color guard - 4 years high school, as well as sat on the board of directors for the Band and Color Guard
Church kids, and youth chaperone, as well as youth event parent... which is basically like a team mom...

We always had a code of conduct, for students and parents... separately... that they must sign... as well all parents must have a back-ground check, local, state, and federal... period no exceptions... If you were a driving parent they did a DL check..

Kids rules of conduct... simple, and straight forward.... don't follow the rules your out...we had things like a warning, or missing out on a event, your off the team, the group whatever... no exceptions... If you act up, you will be put on a plane back to home... and mom and dad will foot the bill for that... and Nope... don't care about the cost... or whatever trauma you are telling me it will cause your child... you should have made sure they understood the rules... and what the consequence would be if they did not abide by the rules...

Adults rules of conduct... Everything must be spelled out during meeting... and they must sign off at the end of the meeting that they understand what we have gone over...
from what a chaperone can and can not wear, adult beverages, adhering to the rules set forth... There was what we called "the book", every kid had a sheet along with contact info, along with any medical issue that we would need to know... even parent custody issues...

One adult per hotel room, with 3 student... in some cases we would have a pull out couch so 5 students and one adult... and this non-sense about sleeping in the hallways... that's just non-sense... my first over night as a newbie they told me that the adults slept in the hallway... I was like I don't think so... so I booked and paid for my own room... I figured out why... the adults where using one room like a bar, and sitting in the hallway drinking half the night... my DD texted me "mom can we come sleep in your room, I was like come on... I end up with 6 girls sleeping between a pull out couch and one queen bed... Why did they want to come sleep in the room with me.... I bet your wondering, because the adults were talking and laughing all night keeping them up... and the parent kept going in the room to use the bathroom, one of the dad's decide to leave the door partially opened when he went to use the restroom...Not cool...

We had alot of push back from parent that said we were to rigid with the code of conduct... The president was like... how can we be to rigid, when we are putting your kids safety and safety of the group first...

I will say for the most part we had less trouble with the kids, only once did we put 2 young men on a plane home... and the airfare was just under a thousand dollar each... plus the taxi ride to the airport, and the chaperones taxi ride back... each of their parents had to pay for the ticket and re-reimburses the parent who had to go with them to the airport... they decided to sneak out of the hotel room... and it goes down hill from there...

I had a young lady, that took off with her much older boyfriend, and then show up at the end of the parade, and tried to act like she was there the whole time... when I did role call, right before we step off for the parade started, she was gone... I will say that as a team... they did not hesitate on telling on her, once the principal asked where she was....they wanted to march in the parade and go to WDW to march in the parade ... Unfortunately... She was kicked off the team...

We had alot more trouble from the adults... who acted worse than the kids...

I had a parent take money from a fundraiser, over 1,000.00 dollars, and try to blame it on the kids... which we caught on camera... I had parents on several occasions get stinking drunk... I had a parent make lewd comments and unacceptable gestures and other things, to several girls which one of them was my DD, which got him a pair of handcuffs, and a ride in a police car... I had to call the police when a parent who was visible intoxicated, tried to take her daughter out of practice... I told her that one of us would take her home, and that started a whole scene of her screaming and cursing, ... so when she went out, I shut the doors which automatically lock, so she could not get back in the practice room... the police could not arrest her as they could prove she was driving drunk... they did let the moms boyfriend come and pick up the mom... the daughter's Dad and picked her up...which she moved in with him and the mom was banned from school property for the rest of the year... so I had my share...

Really holding the kids and parents accountable is the key... set the rules and enforce them...

I would not change a minute of the time that I spent, driving, riding on school buses, cheering them on, consoling and listening to problems, celebrating the wins... marching with them, zipping and unzipping costumes, doing makeup, hair, being cover in glitter, and hair spray, supervising, washing cars, baking tons of baked goods, working on costume's until midnight, walking girls back and forth to the bathrooms at football games, counting heads, and recounting... , dealing with drama... it was worth every minute and I have wonderful memories..
 
I just read this and smiled... as I have been there done that... and gotten several appreciation plaques to prove it... being a chaperone or a team mom, or the leader is not for the faint of heart... this is a job and under taking to be responsible for others kids...

I have been a girl scout assistant leader, which turned into a leader... as the leader never much showed up - elementary school
Home room mom, from kindergarten to 6 grade... 7 thru 9th room parent guide,
I have been a dance mom - and all that entail's - 2 nd grade thru middle school
Team mom, Color guard - 4 years high school, as well as sat on the board of directors for the Band and Color Guard
Church kids, and youth chaperone, as well as youth event parent... which is basically like a team mom...

We always had a code of conduct, for students and parents... separately... that they must sign... as well all parents must have a back-ground check, local, state, and federal... period no exceptions... If you were a driving parent they did a DL check..

Kids rules of conduct... simple, and straight forward.... don't follow the rules your out...we had things like a warning, or missing out on a event, your off the team, the group whatever... no exceptions... If you act up, you will be put on a plane back to home... and mom and dad will foot the bill for that... and Nope... don't care about the cost... or whatever trauma you are telling me it will cause your child... you should have made sure they understood the rules... and what the consequence would be if they did not abide by the rules...

Adults rules of conduct... Everything must be spelled out during meeting... and they must sign off at the end of the meeting that they understand what we have gone over...
from what a chaperone can and can not wear, adult beverages, adhering to the rules set forth... There was what we called "the book", every kid had a sheet along with contact info, along with any medical issue that we would need to know... even parent custody issues...

One adult per hotel room, with 3 student... in some cases we would have a pull out couch so 5 students and one adult... and this non-sense about sleeping in the hallways... that's just non-sense... my first over night as a newbie they told me that the adults slept in the hallway... I was like I don't think so... so I booked and paid for my own room... I figured out why... the adults where using one room like a bar, and sitting in the hallway drinking half the night... my DD texted me "mom can we come sleep in your room, I was like come on... I end up with 6 girls sleeping between a pull out couch and one queen bed... Why did they want to come sleep in the room with me.... I bet your wondering, because the adults were talking and laughing all night keeping them up... and the parent kept going in the room to use the bathroom, one of the dad's decide to leave the door partially opened when he went to use the restroom...Not cool...

We had alot of push back from parent that said we were to rigid with the code of conduct... The president was like... how can we be to rigid, when we are putting your kids safety and safety of the group first...

I will say for the most part we had less trouble with the kids, only once did we put 2 young men on a plane home... and the airfare was just under a thousand dollar each... plus the taxi ride to the airport, and the chaperones taxi ride back... each of their parents had to pay for the ticket and re-reimburses the parent who had to go with them to the airport... they decided to sneak out of the hotel room... and it goes down hill from there...

I had a young lady, that took off with her much older boyfriend, and then show up at the end of the parade, and tried to act like she was there the whole time... when I did role call, right before we step off for the parade started, she was gone... I will say that as a team... they did not hesitate on telling on her, once the principal asked where she was....they wanted to march in the parade and go to WDW to march in the parade ... Unfortunately... She was kicked off the team...

We had alot more trouble from the adults... who acted worse than the kids...

I had a parent take money from a fundraiser, over 1,000.00 dollars, and try to blame it on the kids... which we caught on camera... I had parents on several occasions get stinking drunk... I had a parent make lewd comments and unacceptable gestures and other things, to several girls which one of them was my DD, which got him a pair of handcuffs, and a ride in a police car... I had to call the police when a parent who was visible intoxicated, tried to take her daughter out of practice... I told her that one of us would take her home, and that started a whole scene of her screaming and cursing, ... so when she went out, I shut the doors which automatically lock, so she could not get back in the practice room... the police could not arrest her as they could prove she was driving drunk... they did let the moms boyfriend come and pick up the mom... the daughter's Dad and picked her up...which she moved in with him and the mom was banned from school property for the rest of the year... so I had my share...

Really holding the kids and parents accountable is the key... set the rules and enforce them...

I would not change a minute of the time that I spent, driving, riding on school buses, cheering them on, consoling and listening to problems, celebrating the wins... marching with them, zipping and unzipping costumes, doing makeup, hair, being cover in glitter, and hair spray, supervising, washing cars, baking tons of baked goods, working on costume's until midnight, walking girls back and forth to the bathrooms at football games, counting heads, and recounting... , dealing with drama... it was worth every minute and I have wonderful memories..
😳 WOW! I’m impressed. You have strength! I don’t know if I’d be able put up with a third of all that.
Homeschooling sounds so pleasant after reading this.
 
I have never chaperoned nor will as our school only has teachers that go on school overnight trips. But if I were to chaperoned (which I would never want to do anyways in this day and age just due to liability issues), I would want to have a clear definition of the following:

is there a clear definition of what my responsibilities are and how far am I accountable for any child’s behavior or result of their behavior.
Example am I responsible to ensure that all children are home and in bed by a certain time. But am I accountable if one is smart and somehow sneaks out and gets drunk that night and gets hurt?? I would want to know for what excitedly am I responsible and ACCOUNTABLE for.
At some point the kids are responsible for their choices. Before I would ever commit to chaperoning. I wanna know what legal responsibilities or rights are on my side. I have unfortunately heard of so many stories of kids just going bad and it’s in the adult in the room accountable. . I assume the school trips aren’t kindergartners but young adults with a mind of their own.
 
I manage the Global Service trips program at my high school (20 trips last year!) I developed the vetting process for chaperones (teachers only), the chaperone guideline handbook, and conducted numerous pre trip meetings and one post trip session with trip leaders and chaperones. The expectations and guidelines were clear for chaperones, as they were for students and parents as well.
 

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