FARMINGTON — Bridge Academy of Maine, which has partnered with Mt. Blue High School and the Foster Career and Technical Education Center, will be taking 39 MBHS students on a field trip March 15-19, 2023, to Washington, DC.

Foster CTE center Director Melissa Williams and Student Services Coordinator Mary Redmond-Luce appeared before the Regional School Unit 9 Board of Directors meeting on Nov. 22 to have the board vote to approve the field trip.

The trip will span five days with the estimated arrival date being Wednesday, March 15, and the return date being the following Sunday, March 19.

The students will visit several memorials, including the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Students will also have guided tours through the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and the Holocaust Museum. Other destinations will include the National Archives and the Smithsonian Museum.

When asked if the trip would offer any credits to the students, Williams stated “[students in the program] get college experience and workforce experiences. And this is one other piece of the experience that is expected to come from this program. And so that the credits they’re getting are essentially built into the program itself.”

Bridge Academy is operated by Bridge Year Education Services [BYES], a non-profit organization, and is designed to help high school students obtain additional career assessment, exploration, and advisement as well as obtaining college level credits while still in high school.

Originally formed as a collective between four Bangor area institutions [Hermon High School, Eastern Maine Community College, The University of Maine, and United Technologies Center], Bridge Academy has expanded and partnered with Career and Technical Education centers across the state.

Previously, Bridge Academy had students participate in a week-long Bridge Summer Academy, where they would see a wide variety of colleges and businesses from around the state. This has not happened since 2018 due to the pandemic, according to Redmond-Luce.

Last year, students were treated to a college and career fair and an afternoon ballgame at Fenway Park.

Funding for the field trip will primarily be provided by Bridge Academy through grant funds. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, funds and field trip expenses have not been utilized.

Students will have to raise the remaining $6,000 needed for the field trip through fundraising efforts. The first of these fundraising events will be a wreath sale where they earn $8 for every wreath sold.

To ensure a spot on the field trip, students will need to provide $100 down by Dec. 1. However, the students will get this $100 back as money for lunches on the trip.

Bridge Academy will be working with Explorica, who according to Redmond-Luce have a long history of providing school trips to various locations.

In addition, a guide will be with the group throughout the trip and will be responsible for providing information, setting up tours and planning meals. Insurance for any incident will also be covered by Explorica.

“I just wanted to say how cool it is to see all these war memorials that students are going to be able to go see,” Director Anthony Creznic commented. “I saw many of these as a child myself, the Library of Congress, all this stuff in D.C. So, that’s awesome.”

The board voted unanimously in favor of the field trip.