A journey to thinking and acting on a global scale

Travel Program Progression

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Middle School: Local Citizens

Middle School students develop skills of local citizenship. In the 7th grade they begin exploring nature and small communities, transitioning in the 8th grade to notions of civic action and national government.
9th & 10th Grade: World Travelers

In 9th and 10th grade, students develop as world travelers. The China trip offers them an international experience, and the wilderness trip teaches them to succeed in unfamiliar circumstances. After the 9th and 10th grade trips, students should feel comfortable traveling within the culturally and environmentally diverse communities of the world.
11th & 12th Grade: Global Citizens

In their final two years at Pacific Ridge School, students are challenged to take part in school-designed international or domestic travel programs or to design their own year-end trips or internships. Students who develop their own trips or internships are eligible to apply for travel grants, which require presentations before both a faculty committee and panel of Pacific Ridge community members as part of the application process, as well as a presentation to the Pacific Ridge community in the fall after travel is completed. Both school-designed and student-designed travel experiences encourage students to consider themselves, their education and their future in a global context.

Nearly 90% of Pacific Ridge students participate in the Global Travel program each year.

At Pacific Ridge, global engagement encompasses both perspective and action. Global issues are woven throughout our curriculum and students aspire to a global outlook by immersing themselves in communities and cultures other than their own, whether near or far. Students pursue engagement through academic enrichment, cultural and linguistic immersion, and service work. These activities lead to an understanding of the interdependency of cultures and the inspiration to act for the good of the world.

By 12th grade, students will have achieved a number of goals, among them:

To experience the unfamiliar
To “become comfortable with the uncomfortable”
To reflect on their home culture in a new way
To realize something greater than themselves

The final weeks of the school year are reserved for class trips, with families and Pacific Ridge School working together to make it possible for all students to participate. Students travel with a purpose: they aim for cultural connection as they strengthen their understanding of the year’s curriculum and take learning beyond the classroom walls. Students travel according to grade level and are accompanied by faculty and professional trip guides.

Global Trips

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7th Grade: Big Bear, CA

Seventh graders learn leadership skills in a four-day excursion to Big Bear. They camp for three nights and explore the beautiful environment through day-long expeditions such as hiking through the mountains and kayaking on Big Bear Lake. Group challenges encourage students to develop the teamwork and interpersonal skills central to effective leadership.
8th Grade: Washington, D.C.

Eighth graders deepen their yearlong study of American politics, government and history during a one-week trip to Washington, D.C. Staying on the Georgetown University campus and working in partnership with an educational foundation, our students take a rich thematic approach to learning about our nation’s capital.
9th Grade: China

In 9th grade, students develop as world travelers. The 9th grade China trip offers them an international experience during which they explore Beijing, China’s capital, see monumental sites discussed in history and science classes, hike the Great Wall, learn about the lives and work of farmers in rural China, volunteer in primary schools in small villages, and have the option of a home stay in Shanghai.
10th Grade: Northern Sierras Wilderness

10th graders spend ten days developing leadership and small group cooperation in the California wilderness as they learn to succeed in unfamiliar circumstances. During their trip, students complete an environmental service project, participate in whitewater kayaking, and take on the challenge of a 3-day backpacking trip in Yosemite or Point Reyes National Seashore.
11th/12th Grade: School-Designed Trips
School-designed trips for 11th and 12th grade are themed, tying each destination to an area of academic study, service, cultural immersion or a combination of these three. 2017-2018 trips include:
- American Southwest: Outdoor Immersion
- Austin, Texas: Entrepreneurship
- Chile: Astronomy
- Costa Rica: Cultural Immersion
- Martinique: L'ile aux Fleurs
- Malaysia & Singapore: Gems of SE Asia
- South Africa: Post-Colonial Studies
- Thailand: Rebuilding Lives & Communities
11th/12th Grade: Student-Designed Trips
Examples of recent student-designed trip destinations include:
- Shanghai
- Florence, Italy
- Mexico
- Tanzania
- Ghana
- South Korea
- Cuba
- Iceland
- Chicago
- Kenya
- Japan
- Peru
- Morocco
- Germany