Erin Amones, a New Palestine High School essential needs educator, and her husband, Jon Amones, assistant principal New Palestine Jr. High School, are planning a non-school-sponsored student trip to Europe.
HANCOCK COUNTY — New opportunities broaden a person’s perspective. It’s a lesson New Palestine High School essential skills teacher Erin Amones believes in and teaches her students every day. Last year’s Southern Hancock district Teacher of the Year does all she can inside the classroom to give new experiences to students and now she’s stepping up with another idea to help all teens expand their horizon outside of the classroom.
Erin Amones and her husband Jon Amones, the assistant principal at New Palestine Junior High School, are planning a non-school-sponsored trip to Europe for the spring of 2024. They are encouraging teens from NPHS and elsewhere in the county to join them on a once-in-a-lifetime, nine-day adventure to London, France and Italy.
“Travel can change the trajectory of a young person’s mind when they see different viewpoints,” Erin said. “I know it did for me when I was young, and I want to provide our students and others a chance to experience other cultures, see new places and understand there is more to life than what they’ve seen day-to-day in their community.”
The trip is being planned through Education First-Educational Tours, the world leader in educational travel with over 57 years of experience. For years, Erin has been an organizer of sponsoring foreign exchange students in the Southern Hancock area. Now she said it is time to visit some of the home countries of students they hosted.
“It’s good to have a global interaction in life,” Erin said. “Plus, the teens we take can have something pretty neat to put on their resume to show to colleges about their life experiences.”
The group will have a dedicated personal tour director with them for the nine-day journey, and Erin says the trip is open to not only NPHS students and parents, but also teens from around the county looking for an opportunity to see more of the world.
“If a parent is sending a kid 11 or younger, we do ask that they bring an adult chaperone with them,” Erin said. “But, otherwise, adults will be there and the kids will be safe.”
The family plans to take two of their three daughters with them on the adventure and hope to finalize the list of people going by as soon as this month.
Erin noted there have been other teachers at NPHS who have helped sponsor and put together out-of-country trips for students, but this is her first.
“We have so many great teachers who have done this type of trip outside of their school work for students, but this is my first big one like this, and I’m so excited for this opportunity,” she said.
The big appeal for Erin in organizing the trip is that officials with EF Educational Tours plan everything out and have people who host these types of student events year round.
“They’ll be lots of support while we’re overseas, so we know we’ll be in good hands with someone being with us the whole time,” Erin said. “It’s just a great opportunity because when students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident … These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow.”
Erin noted she’s looking forward to seeing one of her first foreign exchange students from 11 years ago — a young woman who was a teenage girl at the time that the family hosted from Spain.
“She just recently got engaged and we’re going to get to see her and celebrate that with her,” Erin said. “She’ll come and meet us over there and we can’t wait to see her.”
Costs for the trip will vary depending on if students want private rooms or can share with another student. The price per student is estimated at $3,700 with the cost for adults at $4,500.
The trip is currently planned for spring break next year, Saturday, March 16, 2024 through Thursday, March 28, 2024. Any students or parents interested in being part of the adventure are asked to reach out to Erin Amones via her social media page on Facebook.
