Probably the biggest reason for a decrease in school tours is lack of
connection with mandated academic standards. It's not enough just to expose
kids to history or art, etc. The standards must be intentionally addressed,
and mastered. Gone are the days when field trips were simply an educational
excuse to get out of the school building.

We've actually seen a large (200% increase) in our school tours as a result
of closely tying our school tours to local curriculum standards - and
advertising them as such. We bill ourselves as a partner in helping our
schools and students achieve at high levels.

Virtually all of the states' curriculum standards are available online. I
would suggest that every museum find a group of teachers who can help you
tweak your existing tours to more closely align with the curriculum
standards.

Becky Fitzgerald
Susquehanna Museum

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Glenn A. Walsh
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 12:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Decrease in School Tour Numbers

When you contemplate the reasons for the decreasing
number of school tours, the obvious should be
considered:

1) Strapped school district budgets;
2) Taxpayer rebellion against increased property
taxes;
3) Significantly increased fuel costs for school buses
to transport children to museums.

gaw 

--- Mari Shopsis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 11:12:43 -0400 
From: "Mari Shopsis" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Decrease in School Tour Numbers 
To: [log in to unmask]

> There have been a number of threads on these lists
> about decreasing
> numbers of school tours due to NCLB.  
>  
> I'm wondering if anyone has gone so far as to figure
> out an average
> percent decrease.  I'm preparing a board report and
> wondering if the
> decrease in our tour numbers is on par with what
> other museums have
> experienced.  
>  
> If you've quantified your year-to-year change since
> 2000 (pre-NCLB) and
> are willing to share those numbers, I would be most
> appreciative. If you
> email me your museum's stats (either percent change
> or actual tour
> numbers), I'll do some number crunching and try to
> come up with an
> average that would be of us for others. 
>  
> Thanks! 
> ____________________
> Mari Shopsis
> Coordinator of School Programs
> Everson Museum of Art
> 401 Harrison Street
> Syracuse, NY 13202
>  
> p: 315.474.6064
> e: [log in to unmask]
> f: 315.474.6943
> w: www.everson.org

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh
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