Pace Academy Parents Club Launches Travel Grant Program

In October, Pace Academy students traveled to Japan through the school’s Isdell Center for Global Leadership. Credit: Pace Academy

Staff Report

Pace Academy has long benefited from a close relationship with its active and engaged Parents Club. During the 2013-2014 school year, the Parents Club raised more than $1 million through events such as the Fall Fair and Spring Auction & Gala. Funds directly benefit Pace Academy students, staff and programs, enhancing every area of campus life.

In the spring of 2014, the Parents Club Board voted to begin the Citizens of the World Travel Grant Program to increase student access to the Isdell Center for Global Leadership’s (ICGL) study tours.

The ICGL, a collaborative, cross-divisional program, supports a well-rounded global education for every Pace Academy graduate by exploring an annual global theme, implementing hands-on activities, hosting a scholar-in-residence program, and offering leadership fellowships and internships. It also sponsors domestic and international study tours for students in grades five through 12.

The Citizens of the World Travel Grant Program makes these study tours more affordable to all Pace students by providing airfare once during a student’s Middle School years, and once during his or her Upper School tenure.

Already, the impact has been tremendous. According to ICGL Director Trish Anderson, there has been a 55-percent increase in Upper School participation over the 2011-2012 school year (previously the year with the highest participation rates) and a 186-percent increase in Middle School participation. Several study tours received so many applications that second tours were added or the number of chaperones was increased to allow more students to travel.

“Our students are bringing back memories of cultures very different than their own,” says Parents Club President Lori Movsovitz-Edlin, “These experiences lead to greater awareness and an understanding of just how similar they are to others around the world.”

During the 2014-2015 school year, students will travel to Japan, China, Germany, Patagonia, Romania, Budapest, Italy, India, Cambridge, Nambia/Botswana, Greece, Australia, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.

To learn more about the ICGL and the Citizens of the World Travel Grant Program, please visit www.paceacademy.org/icgl.