Eighteen middle school students and a team of chaperones from southwest Iowa are on a ten-day road trip to the East Coast, with most of the time spent in Washington, D.C.
Essex Community Schools Superintendent Mike Wells is serving as the main tour guide and says they have a very full schedule ahead.
“We’re camping and ziplining and seeing D.C.,” Wells says. “They end up on the ocean in Delaware. On the way back, we’ll stop at Hersheyland, amusement parks, and the NFL Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Gettysburg, we’ll do a historical battlefield tour on horseback.”
Wells says he hopes the cross-country trek gives students a sense of history, especially in Washington, while the journey also offers an important lesson in independence.
“These are young kids –12 years old, 13 years old,” said Wells. “To be away from their family for two weeks, and having to do their own laundry, and manage their money, and get up on time and be responsible — a lot of growing takes place on these kind of trips.”
The students raised thousands of dollars to cover expenses. Essex community development director Tess Nelson coordinated the fundraising efforts, which were many.
“We have sold poinsettias, they sold hanging baskets,” said Nelson. “They put on the donkey basketball game that we had this winter in Essex. They do the haunted hayrack ride on the (Wabash) Trace every year. We want to make it available for every student that as long as they put in the sweat equity, they’ll be able to go on the trip.”
The Essex contingent is due back in Iowa on June 29th.
