Field trips for students across San Diego County were welcomed after years of COVID-19 shutdowns. But school buses to transport those students can cost hundreds of dollars that districts can’t cover, forcing teachers to figure out how to handle the financial burden.
ArtsBusXpress is a small San Diego nonprofit that raises funds to cover or offset the cost of field trips for K-12th grade San Diego County public and charter school students.
“We’re often referred to as the missing link, because we’re the ones that can provide that funding to get the kids to the institutions that have reduced the cost for them," said Julia McMeans, executive director of the ArtsBusXpress. But, she continued, "We need money."
Earlier this month, ArtsBusXpress coordinated funding through a donor foundation to transport a group of fourth and fifth-grade students from Wegeforth Elementary to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Balboa Park.
It's about an eight-mile ride from the Serra Mesa campus, at a round-trip cost of $600.
Once the students get there, they toured the ICA art galleries, and got some hands-on learning.
Jason Metcalf, 11, and his classmate Alex Brush, 10, worked together on a project to cut, paste and color a cardboard tower.
“I want to be a new Picasso," Alex said. "(I know) I’m going to have to train with art, draw stuff, paint stuff, and make towers like these every single day.”
Jason liked the other benefits of the trip off campus.
"The entire class can go have fun with each other. Most of the people here are friends and going places together is bonding time," he said.
ArtsBusXpress has kept the wheels on the bus going round and round, transporting 7,000 students to museums this school year. But there’s a wait list with requests from more than 230 teachers, with another 7,000 students.
That has forced a pause on any new requests until $140,000 can be raised. Some support from the city and San Diego County helps, but private donations are needed most.
On average, a field trip costs about $21 a student for transport and entrance to many museums and attractions.
ArtsBusXpress takes requests for funding from any of the 42 local school districts.
Priority is given to students from low-income families who attend K-12 public and charter schools recognized under federal Title I poverty guidelines.
“Our world is filled with screens. We’re on our phones all the time. We see so many billboards that didn’t exist 100 years ago. We need to make sure that kids understand how to visually interpret the world around them.”Andrew Utt, Executive Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art
“If I wanted to send every kid attending a Title I school in San Diego County on a field trip every year, I would need about $5 million — which is a huge sum of money. But that’s how much it would cost," McMeans said.
Wegeforth Special Education teacher Megan Salcido was grateful her request for the ICA trip was funded, meaning no cost to parents and an adventure for the children.
"It’s amazing. It never crossed their minds or maybe their families haven’t brought or weren’t able to bring them here. It’s just something new and exciting," Salcido said.
The ICA is free to the public Thursday through Sunday, making the museum a partner in the investment field trips can be.
Andrew Utt, the ICA executive director said, “Our world is filled with screens. We’re on our phones all the time. We see so many billboards that didn’t exist 100 years ago. We need to make sure that kids understand how to visually interpret the world around them.”
Fifth-grader Jason Metcalf reflected on his experience and said, "It's fantastic how people can make random things into art.”
You can support ArtsBusXpress by donating here.
The Institute of Contemporary Art also welcomes memberships to keep the museum free to the public and for school field trips.
