FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Topic #1 - Safety and Supervision
1. How will my child be supervised?
2. Will my child be safe in a big city?
3. What are the hotel arrangments like?
4. How many adults will be on the student trip?
5. Who are the adults?
6. What if I need to contact my child?
7. What if my child needs to contact me (for an emergancy)?

Topic #2 - Money
8. What does my registration money cover?
9. What if I can't pay the full amount by the time of the trip?
10. Why is the deposit non-refundable?
11. How much spending money should my child take?
12. Will there be any fundraising?

Topic #3 - Registration Process
13. Who do I give the registration forms and money to?
14. What do I do if I cannot open any of the forms online?
15. Is the parent's meeting mandatory for my child to be able to go on the trip?
16. Can I register my child after the registration deadline?
17. What if after registering my child is unable to attend the trip?

Topic #4 - Disciplinary Procedures
18. What happens if my child misbehaves on the trip?
19. Under what circumstances would my child be sent home?
20 . Who would pay for my child being sent home early from the trip?

Topic #5 - Personal Property
21. What if my child loses something of value on the trip?
22. What if something is stolen while on the trip?
23. What if my child loses their money on the trip?

Topic #6 - Picture Orders
24. When and where can I pick up the pictures and/or cd from the trip?
25. What if my child did not order one but decides on the trip they do?
26. Can I pay you when I pick the pictures/cd up?

1. How will my child be supervised?

We have 1 adult for every 8-12 students on our trips. Each adult is given a select group of students that he/she is responsible for. Also, each student is grouped into 4’s. These will be the students that they room with, travel with, and basically go everywhere with. Also, each student is given an obnoxiously colored name badge so that they can be spotted at all times as being a part of our group. We allow students to pick their own roommates for this very reason.

2. Will my child be safe in a big city?

Yes. If your child wasn’t going to be safe, we wouldn’t offer these trips. At no time is a student ever allowed to travel alone throughout the city. Either in their groups of four or with their adult chaperone, students are always accounted for. One nice thing about our trips is that we have a charter bus that takes us around the city, thus eliminating the need for taking the subways or taxis. In our 25-year history, a student has never been in danger within the cities.

3. What are the hotel arrangements like?

We stay in great hotels that offer student-friendly breakfasts and a swimming pool. Students pre-select their own roommates for the trip. There are four students per room and each adult chaperone is responsible for several rooms. Students understand that any damage to the room is at their own expense. On a daily basis, the adults check the room to make sure it is kept in a respectable manner and that the students have anything that they would need. Upon returning to the hotel and at lights out, the chaperones “tape” the students into their room. A piece of tape is placed on the outside of the door so that if the door is opened prior to morning, the chaperone knows that a student left their room without permission. This is for the safety of the students! Our hotels are always located outside the city we visit. This reduces the risk of anything being able to happen.

4. How many adults will be on the trip?

The number varies depending on the number of students that register. As stated above, we have 1 adult to every 8-12 students. Parents are welcome to register for the trip simply as participants, thus increasing our adult presence. Please know that adult participant seats are made only after students have had a chance to register.

5. Who are the adults?

Mr. McDonnell has a long history of trusted chaperones that he uses over and over again. Many of them are teachers within the school system. Tim Black is also one of the chaperones. There are others that have done these trips many times. You will be notified of all the chaperones prior to our trip departure and we hope to have them finalized by our Spring meeting so that you can meet them.

6. What if I need to contact my child?

We allow the students to bring their own cell phones. Realizing that nearly every student now has his or her own cell phone, this is the easiest way to contact your child. However, for those students that do not have their own cell phones, you may contact either Steve McDonnell (419-651-3537) or Tim Black (567-307-3273) at any time during the trip. If we are not near your child at the time of your call, we can have them contact you as soon as possible. Students are NOT permitted to make long-distance calls on their hotel phones.

7. What if my child needs to contact me (for an emergency)?

Same as above. If it is an emergency, we will do everything possible to contact you at the phone numbers you provide us.

8. What does my registration cover?

The registration fee covers the following: 1. Hotel; 2. Transportation in a Charter Bus; 3. All Meals (expect lunch for N.Y.C and meals to and from Ohio); 4. Admissions to any events/shows; 5. and Fun!

9. What if I can’t pay the full amount by the time of the trip?

We require that the trip be paid in full at time of departure; otherwise your child’s expenses come out of our own pocket. If something comes up that will keep you from being able to pay the balance, please contact Steve McDonnell or Tim Black ASAP!

10. Why is the deposit non-refundable?

Well, actually it is up until March 25. Beyond that date, we are locked into hotel rooms, bus rentals, shows, etc. If you register prior to the March 25th date and find that you are unable to attend, please fill out our Cancelation Form ASAP.

11. How much spending money should my child take?

For Washington D.C. we recommend no more than $100. There are several souvenir shops that we will take them to and the items there do not cost a lot. In the past we have students bring too much money and they tend to go a little crazy buying everything in site.

For NYC we recommend about the same, keeping in mind that lunches are on their own (app. $30-50 for lunches). NYC tends to offer more shopping opportunities, but again, students can go overboard with too much spending money. We leave this decision up to you.

*Please know that many places the students will shop (primarily street vendors) do not accept credit or debit cards. Cash is recommended.

Chaperones will collect $10 from every student on our trip out of Ohio. This will be given back to the students for the trip home to ensure they have meal money for our trip home!

12. Will there be any fundraising?

We do not offer group fundraisers. However, if you would like to have your child fundraise, we suggest selling candy bars from Gordon Food Service. You can contact them for more information.

13. Who do I give the registration money to?

All forms and monies should be sent to:
Ashand Travel Club
1600 Greenbriar Drive
Ashland, OH 44805

Checks should be made payable to: Ashland Travel Club OR ATC

14. What do I do if I cannot open any of the forms online?

Contact us and we can either email them to you or you can pick up a hard copy from 1600 Greenbriar Drive, Ashland.

15. Is the parent’s meeting mandatory for my child to be able to go on the trip?

No, it's not mandatory, but it is recommended. As we get closer to the trip, there will be a spring parent meeting that we ask all parents AND students to attend.

16. Can I register my child after the registration deadline?

Yes, IF there are still seats available on the trip. For more information regarding this, please contact us.

17. What if after registering my child is unable to attend the trip?

If it is prior to March 25th, we will simply refund your deposit. If it is after that time, unless we are unable to find someone else to take your spot, we are unable to refund the deposit. Please fill out the cancelation form ASAP!

18. What happens if my child misbehaves on the trip?

The first course of action is to speak with your child and make them understand that their behavior is unacceptable. If the behavior continues, you will be notified and they will be assigned to a chaperone at all times, thus losing some privileges. If the behavior warrants removal from the trip, you will be notified and all expenses to send your child home will be at your cost (including their airplane ticket).

19. Under what circumstances would my child be sent home?

Anything that could put him/herself in danger or risk the safety of any other child/adult on the trip would warrant removal from the trip. Also, if the child still is misbehaving after several warnings from either their chaperone or Steve McDonnell, then this too could warrant removal from the trip.

20. Who would pay for my child being sent home early from the trip?

You would. We then recommend that you make your child pay you back! Each student will sign a Travel Contract agreeing to abide by the rules of the trip.

21. What if my child loses something of value on the trip?

Please realize that we are not responsible for ANY personal property. That is why we recommend that your child bring nothing of any real value on the trip. If it is lost, we will make whatever attempts we are capable of doing to return the item to your child.

22. What if something is stolen while on the trip?

If something is stolen while on the trip, we will try to determine if another student on our trip caused it. If that is the case, we can look into it further. If not, there is nothing we really can do. That is why we recommend that your child not bring anything of any real value.

23. What if my child loses their money on the trip?

If it is Washington D.C., then that simply means they wouldn’t be able to shop. If it is in NYC, we can loan them lunch money, which you would re-pay upon picking your child up. Please instruct your child to always keep their money safe and protected on the trip!

24. When and where can I pick up the pictures and/or CD from the trip?

We offer discs/flash drives of all trip images for $25.00. These usually take 14 days to be complete. These along with the group pictures will be mailed to you.

25. What if my child did not order one but decides on the trip they do?

We require payment in advance. So if while on the trip your child desires to order either a group picture or collection of images, they will need to pay for it at that time.

26. Can I pay you when I pick the pictures up?

No, we require payment in advance. For further explanation, see question 25.