It’s spring break for public schools in the Washington region and students are ditching their books for the week and boarding flights to places like New York, Disney World and Germany. In Fairfax County, Spanish students at McLean High School are traveling to Barcelona and Seville in Spain, while Latin students are venturing to northern Italy, said schools spokesman Paul Regnier. About 35 students, from freshmen to seniors, are on the trips, he said.
In Arlington, students from Nottingham Elementary School are visiting Aachen, Germany, part of a sister city exchange program arranged by the school systems. Students from Aachen visited Nottingham in the fall, spokesman Frank Bellavia said.
Area travel agents have also been booking trips for families to the beaches.
“It’s all islands, all the time,” said Mindy Milliron, a vacation consultant with Travel Place in Bethesda.
“The popular destinations are never going to change, it’s still going to be Mexico, the Caribbean and cruises,” she said.
At Hylton High School in Prince William County, the school’s baseball team is traveling to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., for spring camp, said Irene Cromer, a school spokeswoman. In Alexandria, students at George Washington Middle School are taking an annual trip to New York city, said spokeswoman Sandy Hudnall.
In Montgomery County, librarians with the school system provided suggestions to parents for activities they could do in the area with their kids. At Sligo Creek Elementary, media specialist Jill Martin Elkins encouraged students to design their own hike — such as down Connecticut Avenue in D.C. — and take photographs of the people and places they see.
Many of the area’s schools, including those in D.C. and in Prince George’s County, plan to send students to the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn, an event for children 12 and younger.
In Loudoun County, Briar Woods High School told its students how to enjoy a “spring break on the cheap,” encouraging them to visit area treasures like Great Falls National Park and Historic Leesburg.
“The way the calendar worked out this year, it’s been a long stretch from our last real break in December until spring break,” said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County schools spokesman.
