Bedford School Board approves overnight trips; high school plans April 2026 Lithuania exchange
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Summary
The board approved a slate of overnight student trips for the 2025–26 year, including a new exchange to Vilnius, Lithuania, scheduled for April 18–30, 2026, to bring up to 25 students; chaperone Leva Grossless, the school's ELL teacher and a Lithuania native, will lead the exchange.
The Bedford School Board voted Aug. 11 to approve the district's overnight field trips for the 2025–26 school year, including a new exchange to Vilnius, Lithuania.
Principal Dan Morris presented the list of trips and highlighted the Lithuania visit, which is scheduled April 18–30, 2026 and would bring 15–20 students with a hard cap of 25. Morris said ELL teacher Leva Grossless, a native of Lithuania who participated in a prior site visit, will co-lead the trip.
Morris described Vilnius as "Lithuania's capital city" and a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a major university and noted it hosted the 2023 NATO summit. He also said the district's international-travel guidelines — including chaperone-to-student ratios, the buddy system and homestay expectations — are on the district website and apply to exchange programs.
The board approved the overnight trips in a voice vote after a motion to accept the list as presented. "All in favor? Aye," a board member called; the motion passed.
Morris said many of the trips are recurring programs the high school has run in prior years and that the Lithuania exchange replaces a trip previously scheduled to Denmark. He added that the district will continue to post guidance for families online and that staff will emphasize safety protocols and homestay information for exchange participants.
The board did not discuss any fee waivers or fundraising details at the Aug. 11 meeting; those particulars were not specified in the presentation.