Helping children become positive, contributing members of our diverse local and global community is central to Park’s mission. And to this end, travel is the ultimate applied-learning experience. It provides first-hand exposure to culture, language, history, and circumstances that results in a deeper understanding of the world and one’s role in it. Travel engages students in deep and meaningful ways by putting their knowledge and critical thinking skills to work.

International travel for eighth graders is designed to be a capstone experience for the Upper Division program. For young scholars of Mandarin, French, Latin, and Spanish, the opportunity to take their subject beyond the classroom to experience it first-hand is exceptionally rewarding. On their trips to China, France, Italy, and Spain, students can see their learning come to life as they experience a unique culture in person. With the exception of Latin, students have the opportunity to use their language of study to communicate with native speakers. All traveling students engage in a variety of activities ranging from service learning to historical and cultural explorations; and in China and France, students live with local families in a “homestay.”

Because we consider these trips essential to the curriculum, they are included in the cost of tuition.