Ferriday High School AP classes planning trip

Published 12:01 am Monday, October 26, 2015

FERRIDAY — Like some of his classmates, 16-year-old Nathaniel Hood has never flown on an airplane. He’s never been out of the country either.

That could change if two Ferriday High School Advanced Placement teachers have their way.

AP English language and composition teacher Fabienne Bennett and AP European history teacher Andy Davis are in the early stages of planning the Concordia Parish School District’s first AP trip to either Europe or to the northeastern United States for 12 to 15 students.

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While Davis said Europe is the target destination, Boston and New York are possible destinations if they’re not able to raise enough money for Europe.

“It will tie into our curriculum either way because New York includes Ellis Island and Times Square,” Davis said, who teaches immigration as well as European history.

Bennett said students originally came to her and Davis about the possibility of doing a trip. She said they had considered the idea of doing a trip in the past, but the students’ request spurred them on.

“They never ask for anything,” Bennett said. “They just don’t.”

Davis hopes taking the students to a new place will help give them greater exposure to other cultures.

“That’s the biggest thing, because they don’t know much about life outside of Ferriday,” Davis said.

Hood, who has only ever visited surrounding states like Alabama and Texas, is excited about the possibility of travelling somewhere new.

“I would like to see different cultures and the different styles of living they have,” Hood said. “Also, it would be fun to meet different people from different places.”

So far, Bennett and Davis have raised approximately $2,000 of their $15,000 target to help reduce student costs. It’s estimated the trip will cost $1,900 per student for the stateside trip and $3,500, plus passports, for the trip to Europe.

In December, Davis said they plan to evaluate how much money they raised and discuss with parents whether or not the Europe trip is feasible before they make a decision. Hood said he thought it would be a lot of hard work to plan and fundraise for the trip when he first heard about it, but doesn’t see it as being impossible.

“If we have hard work and dedication, anything is possible,” Hood said.

But, no matter what, Bennet said they want to do some sort of trip.

“We’re both moms and dads,” Bennett said. “We don’t promise things we can’t give.”

For anyone interested in donating, a GoFundMe account is available under the name FHS AP Project.