Why Middle Schools Travel with ACIS

Did you know that international educational travel opportunities can start as early as middle school? Even if they’re not quite ready for college essays or moving into their careers, middle school students benefit in the same ways that high schoolers do, with travel being an opportunity to build cultural bridges, expand foreign language abilities, and prepare them for the challenges of high school itself.

ACIS works with many middle school programs. Here are some of the top reasons their educators and administrators choose to work with us!

The ACIS Classics

At base level, every ACIS tour includes several high quality features that will appeal to students of all ages.

• Centrally Located Hotels – On all ACIS tours, groups stay in centralized locations close to the heart of the action. Other companies save money by putting groups outside the city limits, but the cost comes back to the groups with extra hours of commute time.
• 24/7 Network Support – If and when things go wrong in travel, from the little (missing bag) to the larger (missing flights), ACIS has a 24/7 service network dedicated to making things right.
• Local, Authentic Meals – When in Rome! Eating as the locals do is important to our mission and we encourage even the younger, pickier eaters to try new things. We also don’t cut costs on portion sizes: There is plenty of food for growing bodies!
• Top Tier Tour Managers – ACIS Tour Managers are the best of the best! You’ll be hard pressed to find more thoughtful, kind, intelligent, and organized tour guides in the world. They are prepared to keep travelers of all ages engaged and learning.

Customized Itineraries for Younger Students

Every ACIS itinerary can be adjusted to meet your classroom needs. For middle schoolers, we take into account higher energy levels, and can pack the tour with activities to keep the group focused. High Schoolers are more likely to have higher levels of independence, so their group leaders may choose to have more free time built in for exploration. We also offer a range of destinations that primarily focus on nature and physical activity, such as Costa Rica and The Dominican Republic.

For those with smaller class sizes or who are just starting to build up their travel programs, we also provide tailored, small group itineraries, offering private tours for groups of 13 or fewer.

Safety and Security

Parents may be concerned about sending their younger kids out into the world, but we have a safety and security system that puts those fears to rest.

As mentioned above, ACIS operates a security network with a Traveler Support team on call 24/7 and on-the-ground support teams in cities across the globe. No matter the situation, from medical emergencies to missed flight connections, there is someone ready to take action and get the problem resolved.

Building Skills for High School

Travel in middle school has the power to change the trajectory of a student’s life through high school and beyond. By being in a foreign country and learning about cultures outside their own, younger students set themselves up for success as more independent high schoolers (and human beings).

Here are just a few of the outcomes we’ve witnessed in students over the past four decades of ACIS:

• Improved foreign language skills
• Increased independence, confidence and maturity
• Passions for new subjects
• Increased empathy
• New sense of responsiblity as a Global Citizen

Read more ACIS testimonials on our Trustpilot page

Creating a Legacy Travel Program

One of the benefits of starting a Middle School program is seeing how it builds into a school-wide travel program. Students get a taste of travel early, and with our World Traveler Rewards system, Group Leaders build up points that can be exchanged for ACIS Global Conference experiences. Travel then becomes something to look forward to at both the middle school and high school level. For private and Catholic schools, this can also be a big recruitment tool as parents look for added benefits with their tuition dollars.

Discover how you can build a travel program by contacting our Program Consultants!