NC officials announce $1M fund for field trips for public schools

Some North Carolina public schools will get a funding boost for field trips under a new program announced Wednesday.

Gov. Roy Cooper and state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) Secretary Reid Wilson announced $1 million in new funding for field trips meant to support access to more than 100 DNCR locations across the state.

“Hands-on learning through field trips is an important part of children’s education but not all schoolchildren have the opportunity to experience them,” Cooper said in a statement. “This program will help ensure that public school students have the opportunity to take field trips regardless of barriers like cost or location.”

For Ashley Moser, a teacher of third grade students on a field trip at the Museum of Natural Sciences, said the experiences the children have while on a field trip cannot be replicated in the classroom.

"Their curiosity is incredible. I can see their brain spinning and the innovation and the innovation coming through," she said.

The Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund is available to K-12 public schools in the state, with priority given to schools with a higher percentage of lower-income students. The fund will offer reimbursements to public schools that visit sites managed by DNCR, including state parks, historic sites, museums, aquariums and the zoo, the state said.

The initial $1 million pilot was made possible by funding from the State of North Carolina and is managed by DNCR in partnership with PBS North Carolina.

“Through this fund we will be able to help even more students venture outside the classroom and visit these special places that will captivate their interest and curiosity and also connect them to what it means to live in and love North Carolina,” Wilson said in a statement.

A portion of the funds will be reserved for western North Carolina schools impacted by Hurricane Helene to ensure they receive equal opportunities for field trip funding.

"We have about 100 places in North Carolina with parks, museums and aquariums that are great places for children to go, So this grant will help make sure more students can get the kind of field trip you're getting today," Cooper said.

Moser said the fund will be important for students to get out of the classroom, and could help inspire them to pick their future careers.

"I've had so many students come back to me and say the field experiences we take are really the most powerful part of their classroom experience," she said.