Students and teachers are preparing to go on the May 20 Washington DC trip to spend the day in the nation’s capital and experience the material that was discussed in class.
According to social studies teacher Jessica Muller, who organized the trip, it’s good for the students to visit the locations of social movements and speeches discussed in class.
“We spend a lot of time in [AP] Gov, talking about social movements, and Martin Luther King and Letters from a Birmingham jail,” Muller said, “So it’s just really cool to see that’s where the speech was given.”
Social studies teacher Nicole Harner agrees. “I think for those classes, they value what’s in DC because they have learned about it,” Harner said.
According to junior Michael Smaron, considering how memorable the AP Europeon trip to Philadelphia was in 2025, going to DC is “going to be a trip to remember.”
“Our AP European History class took a trip to Philly, where we explored the historical parts of the city,” Smaron said. “Once I heard about the DC trip, it was a no-brainer.”
While the trip was originally meant for AP Government students, teachers decided to include AP U.S. History students because of Washington DC’s relevance to the course’s material.
“It was just a government trip for government students, but we also see that American history is entwined with government,” Muller said. “I think that experience there will be really impactful for them.”
During the trip students are broken into smaller pre-established chaperoned groups and explore different museums and monuments.
“I’m usually just with my 8 or 10 kids and we just kind of talk about what we want to do,” Harner said.
According to Muller, while there are always logistical challenges to oganizing field trips, this trip still gives her fulfillment.
“I think it’s really gratifying to see the plans that I put together come to fruition,” Muller said.
The trip to DC is a full day experience.
“This year, we have 100 students and 12 teachers,” Muller said. “We’ll arrive around 9:30 in the morning, and head home around dinnertime, 6 p.m.”