The Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) is sponsoring the newly launched, free professional learning community (PLC) Teach & Travel on edWeb.net. In today’s globalizing world, experiences outside the classroom are equally as important as inside. In fact, 24% of all tourism is student tourism, and 12% of that number is students ages 10-17. However, finding the means for student travel can be difficult, especially for low-income schools.

SYTA’s Executive Director Carylann Assante, was recently interviewed on Education Talk Radio. According to Carylann, the number one quality college admission directors look for in students is a global world perspective. There is a specific gap in global experience that must be addressed. SYTA, along with Teach & Travel and the SYTA Youth Foundation, make student travel more accessible by establishing safety and risk management practices, providing lower travel rates for students and educators, and offering scholarships and educational programs to lower-income students.

SYTA also released the findings of a global, landmark study gauging the impact of travel on students and the travel industry. The research was conducted based on a sample representing more than 1,162,000 students, 51 U.S. states and 70 countries. The study sheds light on the tremendous opportunity that exists to enhance learning while creating economic opportunities for cities, attractions, and small businesses. This study, along with other valuable resources, is available in the Teach & Travel PLC.

Teach & Travel provides an online forum for educators to learn about the benefits of student travel and how to successfully organize and conduct tours for student groups, whether the trip is across the globe or to a local museum. It also offers opportunities for community members to collaborate, ask questions, participate in discussion, and more. Teach & Travel provides free webinars and CE certificates for attending a live webinar or viewing a webinar recording.

Teach & Travel has already hosted two webinars, “Why Travel is Essential to a Complete Education!” and “Transforming the Student Travel Experience: Educators on the Road.” These webinars covered topics likes how travel enhances learning, how to make travel more accessible for young people, how to help students develop a host of valuable learning skills through travel, and more. Teach & Travel is planning more webinars for 2017 to be announced in the PLC soon.