Following in the footsteps of Calgary and Edmonton’s Catholic school districts, St. Paul Education Regional Division’s board decided at its last meeting to put international travel on hold for the 2015/16 school year.
On Dec. 7, Alberta’s two largest Catholic school districts cancelled all international travel for the remainder of the school year given “recent global events.” At the local school board, international travel came up when Glen Brodziak, superintendent for SPERD, reported to council at its Dec. 9 meeting that Ashmont Secondary School students had planned to travel to Paris over spring break. Following the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in that city, students and parents held meetings to decide what to do, he said, adding that through travel insurance, they had three options, whether it was to travel to an alternate location, cancel the trip or defer the trip.
“They’ve made the decision to defer that trip to next year. I respect that decision – I think it’s actually a good decision,” said Brodziak, noting that no other school trips to international locations had been planned for this year in the division.
Board chair Heather Starosielski noted that the insurance company was strongly advising against travel to Europe, but “given the circumstances,” she wondered aloud if the board should take a position on travel, a suggestion with which fellow trustees agreed. She said this would not be a “forever” decision, but one that would see the board revisit its policy in the next school year, looking “at where the world is at.”
Brodziak noted that families can choose to do what they want, but the school board had to follow its responsibilities and ensure the safety of its students. While international travel was always planned very carefully, it would be under an even closer microscope in the future, he predicted, saying, “We’re going to scrutinize every trip more carefully than the Ashmont trip was.”
Trustee Lorne Young put forth the motion to defer all international travel for students for the 2015/16 school year, which was carried.
Northern Lights School Division, based in Bonnyville, has also decided to suspend all international travel this year which will “affect several school trips that were planned for later this year,” according to a press release from the division. The release further states that the division will work with the affected schools to access travel insurance refunds or explore alternatives.
