Enrollment has opened for the upcoming EF Education Tours available to students at Leesville Road High School. These independent travel opportunities, taking place in the summer of 2027, allow students to earn high school or college credit through private international travel to Japan, Italy, and Greece. 

Although the trips are led by Leesville teachers, they function as non-school-sponsored programs rather than official Leesville Road High School extracurricular activities. Information regarding the trips will be found through teachers leading specific programs. 

Japan is one of the countries EF will be offering a trip opportunity to at Leesville. To find more information about this program, interested students should contact Mr. Fisher at jefisher@wcpss.net. 

Visiting Japan will allow students to explore Japanese culture through an open lens as they discover concepts of Buddhism and Shinto, both religions studied in our World History course. “I’m looking forward to being able to go to some of the shrines because many of them are older than our country, I really enjoy seeing those and the mix of rural and suburban and city,” said Fisher, science teacher. Students will be able to explore historic sights that will contribute to potential college credit earned. 

EF is also offering a trip to Italy and Greece, led by Leesville teachers, Mrs. Carr and Ms. Tabron. Students interested in a summer in Europe should contact them at scarr@wcpss.net or atabron@wcpss.net. Visiting Europe will allow students to explore in-class concepts learned in class, such as the Colosseum, through a tactile and physical experience. Italy and Greece both have rich histories in dance, a major focus for this trip.

These trips will cost between $6,500 to $8,000 and offer many payment plans for families to cover expenses. “There are a lot of payment plans that allow parents to break up the payment rather than paying it all at once. Typically, this can happen over a 14-month, 16-month period; it’s a more reasonable way of breaking up a high cost, and it becomes a lot more affordable for families,” said Coffey, history teacher. Mr. Coffey has previous experience with EF tours, having gone on one himself as a student. 

These trips are available to all grade levels – there are no restrictions on GPA or language skills. Students should expect to learn basic language skills through their trip experiences as they immerse themselves in the country’s culture. 

Students and families who are interested in learning more about Education First Tours should visit their website at https://www.eftours.com/how-it-works.