Pascack Valley education does not only take place in the classrooms of Hillsdale, NJ; international school trips through outside educational travel agencies allow PV students to take their learning worldwide.

“It just dawned on me that there’s no better way to teach history than to experience it and go to actual places,” Pascack Valley History Teacher Leah Jerome said.

Jerome has been going on international trips since 2015, when she led a Holocaust remembrance trip; they traveled from Munich, Germany to Prague, Czech Republic to Kraków, Poland. According to Jerome, she was inspired to start going on international trips by her colleagues from the World Language Department who went “through the lens of World Languages.”

“Because I teach World History, I feel like anywhere is fair game, and there’s always something to learn,” Jerome said. “I just think the act of traveling is edifying. It teaches us how to communicate with different cultures and learn from different people.” 

11 years ago, PV History Teacher Theresa Flynn embarked on her first trip with students to England and France. When in England, she always makes an effort to take PV students to the museums, partly because she truly admires Queen Victoria’s order for London museums to be free-entry. 

“She [Queen Victoria] doesn’t want people to only have access to educational kinds of museums [only] because they’re wealthy or have the money to pay for those,” Flynn said. “So I think that’s great.” 

Before Chemistry teacher Cindy Reese started going abroad with PV students, there were few international travel options at Valley. Her experiences of touring as a child inspired her to bring international trips to PV. 

“It’s something that I really enjoyed doing, so we wanted to bring some of that here,” Reese said. “They used to have trips a long time ago that specialized in language but never anything else.”

Reese’s first international trip was a science-based trip to Europe. 

“We custom-designed a science trip that went to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria,” Reese said. 

Since then, Reese has attended seven international trips with PV students, her favorite being the trip to Australia and New Zealand.  

“It [the Australia trip] started by going to this reserve where we got to feed the kangaroos,” Reese said. “We hung out with koala bears, and then, at night, we went to the beach, and we watched the penguins come out of the water and walk out of their little home.”  

Reese has also taken Valley students to Greece multiple times. 

“Greece is always fun to go back [to]. Everybody always seems to like it,” Reese said.

Looking forward, she will be traveling with PV students to the Galapagos for the first time next year. 

According to Jerome, there is always a defining moment for each of her trips. After traveling to Machu Picchu, China and to Iceland, the Holocaust remembrance trip was especially powerful for her. 

“For the Holocaust remembrance trip, we actually went to Auschwitz,” Jerome said. “This was something that kind of stays with you. That was as difficult, as you can imagine it to be, so that was something I’ll never forget.”

Flynn’s favorite trip was when she went to Scotland, Ireland, and England. Each time Flynn travels, she says it’s always a different experience, partially due to the people traveling with her. 

In Scotland, Flynn was accompanied by PV English teacher Casey Gotliffe, whom she describes as an “adventurous” and somewhat “non-traditional traveler.” She recalls her students wanting to go shopping, see museums, or visit castles, but Gotliffe had different plans.

“He’s like, ‘See that mountain over there? Let’s go hike that sucker.’ So, we hiked up there,” Flynn said. “It took us about two hours. We took a couple of kids with us that were interested and looked like they could handle a good hike.”

Flynn recalls that memory as a “really cool day on top of the mountainside.”

When deciding on their destinations, all three teachers—Flynn, Reese, and Jerome—try to pick trips based on their own classes’ interests. 

“I’m not saying you have to sign up. But if you were to sign up, where would you like to go?” Flynn said when describing how she approaches her students for ideas.

Flynn picks many European countries to travel to, as they are more affordable and are easier for first-time travelers. 

“There’s always this feeling of France. [It’s] premier at culture, style, fashion, food, and all that jazz,” Flynn said. “So, I feel like that’s always desirable.”

Jerome also tries to incorporate historical relevance. 

“I always try to pick someplace that has appeal to kids and historical relevance, which basically is anywhere in the world,” Jerome said.

Although Jerome has taken a hiatus from international trips since Covid, she is grateful that other teachers continue to provide opportunities for students to travel. 

“I’m just happy that my colleagues are still doing it,” Jerome said. “[The trips are] opportunities for the kids, and that’s really what it’s all about.”