You Can Do It! Overcoming 1st Trip Leadership Anxiety

Travel is one of the best educational tools for engaging and shaping young music and arts performers. Hundreds of band, choir, orchestra, color guard, dance and theatre programs travel each year to amazing destinations in the USA and internationally. For many students, it's their first experience being outside their communities which creates a unique opportunity to grow beyond their comfort zones.

But what if YOU haven’t planned or led a group trip on your own before? In this case, planning quality travel experiences with students can feel extra overwhelming with all of the core responsibilities you already have on your plate as a music, theatre, or dance director. Ah, those ‘First Time Trip Leader’ anxieties! When I was contemplating my band’s (and choir’s!) first trip, dozens of questions and doubts started to fill my mind. Any of the following sound familiar to you:

• Where should we go and what is the best way to get to and from there?
• Will enough kids sign up? Will enough chaperones volunteer?
• What documentation is required?
• How am I going to get all of the stuff we need to where we need it (and back)?
• Can we afford it?
• When should I start collecting registration and funds?
• What if something goes (terribly) wrong?

Sadly, the heaviness of it all initially just weighed me down. Which is the exact opposite of what travel is supposed to be - inspiring and fun! Fortunately, I found over time that planning and leading a fine arts educational trip for my bands, choirs, orchestras, guard, and musical theatre groups was one of (if not THE most) rewarding parts of my job as an educator! So how did I go from nervous trip newbie to confident trip leader? Read on to learn the three keys to my successful transformation that any music, dance, or theater director can use to overcome their first time trip leader planning anxieties.

Observe and Learn From Others

The first key for me was realizing in short order that I needed to gradually step into walking before running in my Trip Leader shoes. Fortunately, I found healthier avenues for getting exposure and familiarity to successful student group travel leadership.

• Volunteer to Chaperone / Help Support Someone Else’s Trip - this is an excellent opportunity to learn the trip leader ropes by watching a more experienced peer or mentor. As a chaperone, you can get a good feel for all of the travel aspects from the parent-guardian viewpoint without taking on too much on your plate. If you do have a little more bandwidth, I highly recommend stepping up to help coordinate one aspect of the trip - say the performances or educational side of the itinerary, or the meals and ground transportation. You’ll gain confidence quickly with others readily available to help guide you in the process.
• Join Forces with Other Groups in Your Community - reach out to your peers in your school district and see who else is contemplating or starting to plan travel to festivals, competitions, or cultural destinations. By teaming up, you can optimize tasks, save on costs, and see how others handle the administration ropes. Plus, you and your students will forge valuable relationships from the shared travel experience. Another huge benefit!

Set and Share a Clear Vision

The second key to my success was developing a clear vision of what I wanted the trip experience to deliver for my program. Look for travel opportunities which incorporate performing in some capacity. Students and their families can plan a vacation but performing with an ensemble offers a unique opportunity for the students to use their skills outside the classroom and their community by representing the school, district and many times the state / country. Performance trips are something your community can get behind and will bring great pride for the students and parents involved. Make sure to consider what else they will see, hear, and experience outside the performance that can contribute to their cultural and social development.

Once you have a clear vision, share it with your advisor and most trusted helpers for feedback. Loop in your student leaders so they can understand and buy in. Then after you’ve gained permission from your supervisor/school administration, prepare a presentation for students and their families. Make it fun and involve your student leaders to help evangelize your vision. At the same time, you should convey the expectations for your students (and chaperones!) while on the trip. Whoever participates is representing the program, the school, you and themselves while traveling in your group. Spell out what they are to do in all situations, otherwise they will create their own rules! (and we all know what that could look like!) Clear, concise expectations and policies up front will ultimately help make your first trip run smoothly and efficiently.

Plan and Map Out Your Trip Prep

The third and most life saving key for me was to capture all of the content and logistical pieces into one trip planning map. If you do not have a professional tour operator handing the planning and leader duties for you, it's imperative that you create a thorough planning map for yourself and any volunteers. I broke out all of the core planning areas, identified decisions, dependencies, and deadlines for each, plus set up a series of personal reminders (in my case old school post-its at first, then Siri later in my career) to make sure I hit each one. Here are some of my ‘glad I know now, wish I had known then’ tips on a few of these areas:

• Destinations - If it's your first trip, I recommend starting out with a simpler regional destination. Sticking to places that are within a reasonable travel distance will cut down on costs and the stress of venturing beyond your comfort zone. Look at ratings and reviews and ask other directors for input.
• Airlines - If you need to fly, ask for group reservations when you contact the airline. These specialists can help you with cost, seating location on the plane, check in process for a group, going through security, checking equipment / instruments / luggage items for your destination.
• Hotels - Ask for group reservations as they will work with you on cost, how many rooms are needed, how you want the students placed on their property (all internal rooms, different floors, etc.) I recommend placing students 4 to a room and adults 2 to a room.
• Buses - If you are going to fly, make sure you have a method of transportation reserved to pick up the group at the airport and transport them to the hotel or first destination of the trip. I strongly suggest keeping the buses with you so that it is easy for you to load and unload efficiently and not have to wait on the bus to arrive. Typically you need to provide a hotel room for each bus driver, so be sure to include that expense in the overall cost of the trip!
• Meals - organizing food can be tricky for large groups (or any group for that matter) but not impossible. You should contact multiple restaurants near the hotel and around your planned itinerary to see if they can accommodate the number of people you have on the trip, what the menu will look like and how much it will cost per person. Remember that most places automatically add the tip for groups. Keep in mind the specific dietary needs of the people on the trip. Most restaurants can accommodate different dietary needs (vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, allergies, etc.) if they are informed in advance.
• Chaperones and Other Helpers - make sure to have plenty of adults on the trip with you. You have only two eyes and two ears! Multiple chaperones can really help you monitor the students and keep them safe and on time within the arranged itinerary. Remind the adults on the trip this is not “their” vacation but a student school trip where they will have responsibilities and expectations.
• Itineraries - keep a healthy balance between performances, educational/cultural activities and free time. If you are attending a festival experience with performances already built into the itinerary, that’s great. If you are looking to set up your own performances, many schools / universities will allow you to perform or do a sharing performance (for example - your group performs and their group performs). In addition, there are other community events / locations in which you could request to perform with your group. While it takes a bit of time to track down the correct contact person to arrange a musical, theatrical or dance performance opportunity, the experience is ultimately worth it! Keep in mind you will likely need to complete paperwork to perform and potentially pay a fee that may be associated with the performance / venue.
• Permissions, Policies and Paperwork - I should have put this one at the top of the list! You must familiarize yourself with all of the district policies concerning taking students on a travel / field trip. What are the forms needed to fill out? How far in advance must they be turned in for approval? Are there different policies for overnight trips? What are the district restrictions and / or expectations for educators taking students off campus? It is important to start with the administration in your building to get approval and have the potential travel dates approved in advance. Check to make sure your travel plans do not conflict with state testing or any major school events!
• Fundraising - start early and enlist your volunteers to help with your fundraising cause! Provide a clear pitch for your students to share to their family, friends, and biggest community fans. Use newsletters, posters, and announcement opportunities wherever and whenever they are available. Making a personal plea during a football or basketball game, lunch periods, or at PTA gatherings can translate into donations.
• Fun Stuff - with all of the planning, organizing, and wrangling on your plate, carve out moments to build in the fun stuff for your trip. Assign a student leader to capture precious moments in photos and videos before and during the trip. Have some games and creative warm ups at the ready for the boring downtime moments in the airport and hotel lobbies. Create an imaginary trip mascot, invite your students to name it and use it to draw out more introverted students.

P.S. Technology is Your Friend

Back when I started planning and leading my first trips, email wasn’t even a thing! With today’s powerful technology and media apps (Reddit, TikTok, ChatGPT, etc.), there are more tools than ever to assist you with a variety of tasks. But when it comes to requesting collecting student and guardian information, signatures, and payments, take caution! You must safeguard personal and financial details from unauthorized sources by using approved software with proven privacy and security handling. CutTime with Group Collect provides provides a powerful and secure means for you to capture registrations, payments, and purchase trip insurance with less hassle and greater peace of mind. Likewise, online fundraising drives with Simple Raise through CutTime can help your band, choir, orchestra, dance, and theatre groups speed up and maximize their donations for festivals, competitions, and cultural trips.

You Can (and Should) Do It

I strongly recommend traveling with your fine arts middle and high school students as these unique moments will last a lifetime! After teaching for 35 years and taking hundreds of trips with bands, choirs, guard and drill teams, and musical theatre groups, I relish the memories. When I run into my former students, they typically start our conversations with “remember when we went to” and proceed to tell me how it impacted their life. Trust me, your former students will continue to remember these extraordinary experiences you provided to them on top of their everyday learning.

Leading a music or arts group trip is daunting to think about, but you can do this! Your students deserve the chance to travel to and perform in places that they may not normally be able to do in their life, so take the chance, and put in the extra effort to provide them with an amazing travel experience. The investment you make in student travel will yield many rewards, both professionally and personally. Happy travels!