Online Media Kit

About WorldStrides
WorldStrides is the largest and most trusted student educational travel organization in the country committed to providing
inclusive, rewarding, fun, easy, and educational travel experiences for students and teachers. WorldStrides’ unparalleled
dedication to hands-on learning, peace of mind, and team-based support allows it to deliver the quality programs that
educators expect. Due to its rare accredited status given by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS),
WorldStrides is the first organization of its kind to be a supplemental education school. Accreditation recognizes educational
institutions for performance, integrity, and quality and entitles them to the confidence of the educational community and the
public. WorldStrides has provided a variety of educational travel programs to more than three million elementary, middle, and
high school students since its inception in 1967. As many as 200,000 students in a given year have traveled with WorldStrides
to destinations throughout the United States and the world.

Mission
Enriching Students’ Lives through Experiential Travel

WorldStrides’ Experience
Because WorldStrides is the nation’s first accredited student travel organization, educators, parents, and students can trust
WorldStrides to offer the finest programs available today. In over 40 years, thousands of teachers from all 50 states and
several foreign countries have traveled with WorldStrides, but they did not travel alone. Over 350 travel and education
specialists supported teachers, their students, and their parents. WorldStrides works behind the scenes to ensure a safe, fun,
educational, and memorable experience for each participant. We are dedicated to helping students discover history, science,
and the performing arts in a whole new way. All of the programs use an integrated learning approach that focuses on hands-
on learning and on-site discovery. Additionally, WorldStrides awards free professional development to teachers and gives
students the opportunity to earn high school credit by providing them with pre-program, on-site, and post-program course
work. With this approach, learning goes beyond the cognitive level, creating a “real world” experience.

Our Guiding Principles

ƒ Education: We will offer programs with recognized and sound educational objectives.
ƒ Care: We will treat our customers, vendors, and fellow employees with honesty, respect, and professionalism. We will
provide the highest level of safety for all participants and employees through training and financial investment.
ƒ Excellence: Our products and services will be the highest quality programs available. We will consistently strive to
improve the experiences provided for students and teachers.
ƒ Integrity: We will maintain our position as the ethical leader in the student travel industry. We will provide a work
environment based upon trust and respect.
ƒ Stability: We will partner with leading financial institutions to provide the highest level of financial stability and reliability.
Our participants’ investments are secure through our membership in USTOA’s Travelers Assistance Program.

History/Timeline
1964 Phil Wendel, a middle school social studies teacher from Chicago, discovered the incredible experience of
traveling to Washington, D.C. with his students.
1967 Wendel was so encouraged by the powerful effects travel had on his students’ understanding of history that
he left teaching in 1967 to create Lakeland Tours - an educational student travel organization. Through his
vision, the organization has become the industry leader in student travel. Since then the organization has
worked with thousands of teachers and schools from all 50 states and several foreign countries.
1998-2001 Lakeland Tours merged five of the country’s leading student travel companies: American Student Travel,
Educational Field Studies, Heritage Festivals, Bowl Games of America, and Wider Horizons.
2001-2004 Lakeland Tours brought all of its acquired companies together under a single name, WorldStrides.
WorldStrides acquired Classic Festivals in 2003 and renewed its accreditation status in 2004.
2007 WorldStrides celebrated its 40th anniversary.
2008 WorldStrides acquired Field Studies Center of New York, giving thousands of middle and high schoolers the
unique opportunity to perform in New York’s famous Carnegie Hall.
WorldStrides Press Contact WorldStrides Headquarters
Wayne Williams WorldStrides
Vice President, Marketing 590 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300
Phone: 434-982-8754 Charlottesville, VA 22911
Email: waynew@worldstrides.org www.worldstrides.org
Fax: 434-982-8690 Toll-free Number: 1-800-999-7676
 Online Media Kit
Organization, Ownership, and Structure
WorldStrides is jointly owned by organization management and by the private equity affiliates of two of the country's leading
financial institutions: Charlesbank Capital Partners and Silverhawk Capital Partners.

The WorldStrides Team

All WorldStrides programs are led by a Program Leader from the school’s community who is most often a teacher, but
sometimes a principal, parent, or coach. WorldStrides understands the demands placed on teachers. Therefore, every
Program Leader is assigned a personal team of travel professionals, pre-trip and on-site, who work closely with them from the
time they decide to travel until their group returns home safely. To support this team, WorldStrides has a staff of over 300
people, many of whom are former educators and all of whom are dedicated to making sure every aspect of our programs are
a success.

Management Team
Jim Hall, Chief Executive Officer
Fred O’Connor, Executive Vice President
Jamie Gerber, Chief Financial Officer

Accreditation & Endorsements

WorldStrides is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS). This distinction allows WorldStrides to
provide the opportunity for students to earn high school academic credit. In addition, WorldStrides also offers professional
development to teachers in all 50 states. As part of an ongoing process to maintain accreditation, WorldStrides evaluates
current programs, assesses student learning, and develops new programs and techniques to enhance the educational offering.
In 2004, WorldStrides’ accreditation status was renewed. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has endorsed WorldStrides’ and
our educational travel programs, and we are the only student travel organization to have received such recognition from this
state school board.

Professional Associations and Distinguished Memberships

ƒ United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA)
ƒ National Tour Association (NTA)
ƒ American Society of Travel Agents
ƒ Student and Youth Travel Association of North
America (SYTA)
ƒ Washington, D.C. Convention and Visitors Corporation
ƒ Airlines Reporting Commission / International Airlines
Travel Agent Network
ƒ National Association of Secondary School Principals
(NASSP)
ƒ National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
ƒ National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
ƒ Texas Education Agency (TEA)
ƒ Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS)
ƒ International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)
ƒ College Board/Advanced Placement
ƒ National Middle School Association (NMSA)
ƒ New Jersey Department of Education
ƒ Illinois Department of Education
ƒ Georgia Department of Education
ƒ Washington Department of Education

WorldStrides Headquarters & Satellite Offices

WorldStrides is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA. The organization has satellite offices in Newport Beach, CA; Dallas, TX;
Houston, TX; Medford, NJ; Orlando, FL; New York, NY; Reno, NV; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Washington, D.C.; and
Williamsburg, VA.

Web Sites
For more information about WorldStrides products and services, please visit us at one of our websites:
WorldStrides www.worldstrides.org
Christian Discoveries www.christiandiscoveries.org
Heritage Festivals www.heritagefestivals.org
Bowl Games of America www.bgaevents.org
American High School Theatre Festival www.ahstf.org
WorldStrides International Programs www.worldstridesabroad.org

WorldStrides Press Contact WorldStrides Headquarters

Wayne Williams WorldStrides
Vice President, Marketing 590 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300
Phone: 434-982-8754 Charlottesville, VA 22911
Email: waynew@worldstrides.org www.worldstrides.org
Fax: 434-982-8690 Toll-free Number: 1-800-999-7676
 Online Media Kit

Products
WorldStrides designs interactive programs that enhance classroom instruction. Each travel program is a combination of
curriculum, content, and fun. WorldStrides offers students a wide breadth of program options ranging from history and
science to music and the performing arts. Each program is designed to stimulate higher-order thinking by asking students to
comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate new information and ideas. Classroom lessons come to life when
students feel, hear, and see American history, science, government, theater, and the world of music up close and in person.
Listed below is a snapshot of WorldStrides product offerings (for a complete description of all WorldStrides programs, please
visit the ‘Discover by Program’ section on www.worldstrides.org).

Discovering the Historic East Coast

ƒ Discover D.C. (Washington, D.C.)
ƒ Discovering Our Past ( Williamsburg, VA)
ƒ Make New York Yours (New York, NY)
ƒ Discover Boston (Boston, MA)
ƒ Birth of a Nation (Philadelphia, PA)

Discovering the Golden State

ƒ We Discover California (Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco, CA)
ƒ Our Westward Adventure (Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco, CA)

Enriching Students’ Lives Through Science

ƒ Science in Motion (Orlando, FL)
ƒ Splash into Science (Florida Keys and Everglades)
ƒ Habitat: H2O (Florida Gulf Coast)
ƒ Dive In: Life in the Field (Florida Keys, Gulf Coast, and Everglades)
ƒ Costa Rica: Wild Science (Costa Rica, Central America)

Discovering America Through Music

ƒ Heritage Festivals: more than 100 festivals throughout the world each year
ƒ Bowl Games of America: performances for spirited crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands at America's finest
football classics and holiday parades

Focus on Europe
ƒ History, literature, and theatre programs in London, England
ƒ History programs in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain
ƒ History and arts programs in Paris, France
ƒ History and arts programs in Rome and Florence, Italy

Christian Discoveries
ƒ Experience the Historic East Coast - Washington, D.C., Williamsburg, VA, Charlottesville, VA, Gettysburg, PA, Philadelphia,
PA, and New York, NY (programs are specifically designed for Christian schools)

Special Events
In addition to the educational and performance programs, WorldStrides coordinates travel and activities for the
following organizations:
ƒ American High School Theatre Festival - A festival that runs in conjunction with the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe
Festival (the world's largest performing arts festival, which takes place each August in Edinburgh, Scotland)
ƒ Boy Scouts of America Jamboree/Philmont
ƒ Center for Civics Education
ƒ Inauguration D.C. 2009
ƒ Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)

WorldStrides Press Contact WorldStrides Headquarters

Wayne Williams WorldStrides
Vice President, Marketing 590 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300
Phone: 434-982-8754 Charlottesville, VA 22911
Email: waynew@worldstrides.org www.worldstrides.org
Fax: 434-982-8690 Toll-free Number: 1-800-999-7676
 Online Media Kit

Testimonials
“For those to whom learning is important and valued there is no better choice. I feel my daughter got more out of her
WorldStrides program than any learning within the classroom setting. What a gift to give, the enhancement of education! I
can think of nothing more important or better for students and their future.”
Cori Matthews, Parent
Oregon
"About a year ago I went on a WorldStrides trip with my eighth grade class to Washington, D.C. I can honestly say that I will
never be the same. I was awestruck by all the beauty. I had never been to D.C. before. My breath was taken away when I got
my first view of the Washington Monument. I had been waiting my whole life to go there, and all of a sudden there I was.
Washington, D.C. is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I had such a blast with my friends, and I learned so much. I
just want to say thank you to WorldStrides for this amazing trip. It was so amazing, everything went perfectly. I was touched
so deeply inside. So again thank you! I hope that one day my kids will be able to go on a WorldStrides trip like I did."
Betsy Jones, Student
Tucson, AZ
“I feel that this trip is something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. The amount of memories I obtained from spending
that one week in Paris are infinite…I gained a taste of life somewhere else and a sense of independence. The trip is
something that has affected my life and will forever be with me.”
Kristel Choy, Student
Diamond Bar, California
“What this science program to Florida offers the children I cannot even touch in the classroom or on a day field trip.”
Jennifer, Teacher
“Excellent trip! It was extremely educational. We learned so much about the flora, fauna, culture, and philosophy of the
people of Costa Rica.”
Jacqueline Heslop McCook, Parent Chaperone
Florida
“I have been with WorldStrides since the mid-1980’s and have always felt certain that the interests of the
students, their parents, and my school were first on your list.”
Mary Anne, Teacher
Georgia
“The Florida Keys trip was something that I will never forget. WorldStrides was so helpful, and it seemed as though all they
cared about was our safety and making sure that we were having the best time of our lives. And we did have the time of our
lives! I didn’t ever want to leave. Next year I will be going on the D.C. trip and I can’t wait! Thank you, WorldStrides, for
being so awesome and making my class and I feel safe.”
Paige, Student
Wildwood, Florida
“Thank you for giving my students a tremendous experience. Your company does a wonderful job of giving students the
opportunity to see our nation's capital and understand what has made this country great. Even though they are aware of the
current state of our nation's domestic and foreign affairs, the light, pride, and happiness they showed while seeing some of
the sites, and of some many other groups with your company, gives me a hope of our nation's future. Once again, thank you.
I will be seeing you in the future.”
Sam Navarro, Teacher
California
“For 26 years, I brought students from my school to Washington, D.C., with WorldStrides. What kept me coming back? The
answer could be seen on the faces and in the eyes of students when they saw the sights of Washington.”
Gary Fiorio, former Teacher and current WorldStrides On-site Coordinator
Pleasanton, California

WorldStrides Press Contact WorldStrides Headquarters

Wayne Williams WorldStrides
Vice President, Marketing 590 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300
Phone: 434-982-8754 Charlottesville, VA 22911
Email: waynew@worldstrides.org www.worldstrides.org
Fax: 434-982-8690 Toll-free Number: 1-800-999-7676