Staff Bus Reservations – Field Trips

FIELD TRIP! Do any other two words mean as much to your students as the opportunity to get on a school bus and go somewhere besides the classroom?

Little do they know about the educational opportunity that a field trip provides them in addition to what they learn in your classroom. Below, you will find the information that will help you make a bus reservation, how to calculate your estimated bus charges, and even how to make a passenger count of available seats.

First, decide WHERE you think you might want to go and approximately what dates. Then, feel free to email the transportation department at mgriffi@summit-academy.com or call me at the office (734/941-1750) to check on bus availability for the date in question. Please note, that if your field trip times are out of the 8:15 to 2:15 time span that is normal for Summit Academy buses to do a field trip, the trip may still be able to happen, but on a third party bus (Trinity, etc.) but cost may be different.

If you need to make reservations with your destination contact, this would be the time to do that as well, so that you can let us know what specific date you need.

Lastly, once a date is agreed upon, you can find a bus reservation form here.

Please go to mapquest.com or Google Maps and make a map of directions for the driver, as well as obtain one way mileage to help you calculate estimated charges. If you are going into the city of Detroit to visit one of the museums or to the Detroit Zoo, it’s always worth looking at the MDOT website to see what locations in the city are undergoing construction, as it will help you in planning your trip.

Also, PLEASE be sure to have your bus reservation form signed by an administrator of your building, in that it confirms that the trip is approved and allows the transportation department to register your order. If it is not signed, I will not register your order until I get an email confirmation from the administrator of your building that the trip is authorized. These documents can both be submitted via fax, email or interoffice mail and you will receive a confirmation email of your order number. If you don’t receive this confirmation email within a few days, please don’t hesitate to verify that your paperwork was received by the transportation office.

Please, if you have any questions at all, I’ll be glad to help you. It’s a part of what I do as the transportation director. If for any reason you need to book a charter bus (Cedar Point, or other long trips that warrant a charter) please call me first, as I have several companies that I can contact who are reliable and provide reasonable rates. Just be sure that you are trying to book a charter well in advance of the date that you want to go on the trip (It’s also a good idea to clear these trips with your administrator prior to contacting me as well, because they are much more costly.) I hope that this page provides you, the teacher, with some degree of self-help assistance as you work to plan your field trip.

Feel free to call me at the high school, 734/955-1730, x-1114, my office at 734/941-1750 or email me at mgriffi@summit-academy.com if I can assist you in any way.

Mark Griffin

Transportation Director

Summit Academy Schools.