Kindergarten Field Trips

The library field trip is supported by the Office of Early Childhood Programs, and a library experience is required for all kindergarten classrooms. Through this trip, students and families experience and learn about the many activities and resources provided by the Howard County Library System. Procedures to support this process are included in the Pre-Trip Resources tab.

Please note that while schools have until May 1 to take their trips, the field trip and quotes must be submitted to Melanie Facchiano, Technical Assistant for Early Childhood Programs by October 1. When the field trip has been completed, the bus invoice must be sent to Melanie Facchiano, Technical Assistant for Early Childhood Programs. 

Notes: 

• IMPORTANT: each school has a transportation allocation; please see the Transportation tab for details.
• All invoices must be submitted no later than May 1 of the calendar year in order to meet end of year spending deadlines. Submissions after this date will not be paid. 
• All trip date(s) estimated transportation costs must be provided to Early Childhood Programs for approval prior to the trip, using the Early Childhood Programs Quote Sheet Links to an external site.. Only include the quote for your school's designated vendor. Transportation costs that exceed school allocations cannot be paid. See the Transportation tab for more information.
• After reviewing the contents of this page, please reach out to Stephanie Geddie with any questions prior to booking your trip.

Purpose

The purpose of the Kindergarten Library Field Trip is to:

• Support a partnership among families, the community, the schools, and the library to promote the library as a necessary resource for learning and growing;
• Increase awareness of the use of libraries to facilitate development of good reading habits; and,
• Reinforce the responsibilities associated with borrowing materials from the library (e.g., checking out a book, taking care of the book, returning the book).

It is the expectation that all programs participate in this in-person field trip. If a field must be canceled due to closure, please contact your Designated HCLS Library Branch Contact as soon as possible.

• 2024-2025: if the cost of transportation impacts the ability for a school to take this trip at no cost, please contact your Designated HCLS Library Branch Contact to discuss alternative, in-school options.

For general questions about the library field trip, please contact Stephanie Geddie, Office of Early Childhood Programs.

Library contacts

• Designated HCLS Library Branch Contacts Links to an external site.

Prior to the trip, please discuss class size, number of classes, and scheduling with the HCLS Library Branch Contact. Schools may be asked to sprinkle classes or attend in smaller groups of classes. In cases of reduced groups, teams should make every effort to maximize trips taken in a single day. For example, 2 classes attend in the morning and 2 classes attend in the afternoon. Trips that span multiple days must be approved by both Early Childhood Programs and your local branch contact. 

For questions regarding adjusted schedules, related arts, lunch, etc., ITLs should contact Stephanie Geddie.

Library Cards

All new HCPSS students (Pre-K–12) will receive their A+ Student Card account number at the beginning of the school year. Once new accounts are activated, students will receive information about accessing their credentials from their school media specialist. Please see "Pre-Trip Resources" for more information related to preparing accounts prior to the field trip.

It is the expectation that all students check out a book during the field trip. For students without a card, teachers should use their A+ Educator Card/Account Links to an external site. to check out books on behalf of their students.  As a reminder, HCLS is fine-free. While we encourage the return of all books, students and teachers will not be responsible for fines associated with unreturned books.

2024-2025 Guidance

Prior to securing Bus Quotes, please confirm dates of your field trip and group size with your Designated HCLS Branch Contact. Field trips must be submitted following the most recent HCPSS guidance. Please work with your front office staff to ensure field trip timelines and guidance are followed.

Transportation Funds 

Transportation funds available for the A+ Partnership Field Trip are limited. Each school will be provided with a A+ Partnership Transportation Allocation Links to an external site. based on the approved 24-25 budget. 

Transportation Quotes

If a school needs a bus for a field trip, the designated school bus contractors that school on the day-to-day basis needs to be contacted first. If that company cannot provide service, then the school can go to another approved bus contractor on the list. If the approved HCPSS bus contractors are exhausted, a school may select from the list of approved coach buses. Documentation of the denials from the standard buses is required to support this decision.

All schools are required to provide Early Childhood Programs with a quote prior to the trip, using the Early Childhood Programs Quote Sheet, Links to an external site. using the following guidance:

• Only include the quote for your school's designated vendor.
• Details specific to schools with Zum as the contracted bus vendor are included on the Early Childhood Programs Quote Sheet Links to an external site.
• If the vendor is unable to accommodate your request, provide the quote shared by another vendor.
• Transportation costs that exceed school allocations cannot be paid. See the Transportation tab for more information.

Scheduling Guidance

The average school bus holds 42 passengers @ 2 per seat. Younger students may sit up to 3 per seat. To ensure sufficient funds for transportation, teams should make every effort to consolidate trips into one day, rather than across several days. For example, for a team of four:

• two classes go in the morning and two classes go in the afternoon;
• staggered start (two classes arrive at the field trip and begin; when the second set of classes arrive, the first leave).

We recognize this may be impacted based on individual branch staffing/scheduling needs and want to ensure that the visit is successful for students, families, and staff. If the cost of transportation impacts the ability for a school to take this trip at no cost, please contact yourn Designated HCLS Library Branch Contact Links to an external site. to discuss alternative, in-school options.

Available Funds

Transportation costs that exceed school allocations cannot be paid. If transportation costs exceed the allocated budget, schools will need to secure additional funding sources for transportation.

IMPORTANT: if you secure an estimate less than your allocation, please notify Stephanie Geddie and Amy Raymond so that we can adjust allocations for other programs.

  A+ Partnership Transportation Allocations Links to an external site.

If the cost of transportation impacts the ability to take the required A+ Partnership field trip, schools should contact their branch for school-based options. Once confirmed, please notify Stephanie Geddie and Amy Raymond.

Submitting Invoices

When the field trip has been completed, quote sheet and/or bus invoices for the field trip must be sent to Melanie Facchiano, Technical Assistant for Early Childhood Programs.

All invoices must be submitted no later than May 1 of the calendar year in order to meet end of year spending deadlines. Submissions after this date will not be guaranteed payment.

Previous Guidance

The following guidance applies to 2022-2023 and prior.

To ensure sufficient funds for transportation, teams should make every effort to consolidate trips into one day, rather than across several days. For example, for a team of six:

• Three classes go in the morning; and,
• Three classes go in the afternoon.

Trips that occur across multiple days require prior notification and approval from Early Childhood Programs.

Each school must contact designated school bus contractors Links to an external site. to secure transportation. If a quote is required, you must secure three quotes using the Bus Quote Sheet Links to an external site.. When quotes are required, unless approved, the least expensive quote must be selected.

The bus invoice (and quote sheet, when required) for the HCLS field trip must be sent to Melanie Facchiano, Technical Assistant for Early Childhood Programs, when the field trip has been completed.

Note: All invoices must be submitted no later than May 1 of the calendar year in order to meet end of year spending deadlines. Submissions after this date will not be paid.

Book Checkout

In alignment with the purpose of the field trip, all children will be given the opportunity to check out a library book. Withholding checkout is not to be withheld or used as a punishment for students. Procedures for barcodes, to be completed before leaving for the field trip, are detailed below in the Pre-Trip Planning Items.

When developing permission slips, consider noting that book check-out is a component of the library field trip (e.g., all students will be selecting a book to check out from the library and bring home, and will be expected to return it to the library).

If parents/caregivers/family members are unable to return the book to the library, they may return it to the teacher. Teachers return HCLS books to the school librarian, who can Pony the books to the Office of Library Media.

Pre-Trip Planning Items

• Identify a date for the library field trip and contact your Designated HCLS Library Branch Contact Links to an external site. to confirm availability.
• Note: trips must be booked prior to October 1. Trips must be taken before May 1. Bus invoices can be sent to Melanie Facchiano, Technical Assistant for Early Childhood Programs, when the field trip has been completed.
  • All invoices must be submitted no later than May 1 of the calendar year in order to meet end of year spending deadlines. Submissions after this date will not be paid.
• Consult with front office staff for the most current Field Trip forms, policy, etc..
• Work with approved bus contractor, taking into account any special transportation needs (e.g., wheelchair). 
• Submit field trip information online through Risk Management's Trip Planner.
• Work with school librarian to introduce A+ Student Card as a whole group during Library. Children should practice saying their full name when checking out a book each week.
• Work with kindergarten staff in to log in to A+ Student portal and print out barcode on paper for each student. To print the bar code:
  • Go to hcpss.me (note: please ensure you are logged out of your account)
  • Select HC Library
  • Enter their Active Directory login
  • Once they log in, they should see the bar code on the top of the page along with their login and password information.
  • File - Print
• Bring printed sheets/cards to the field trip. All students will be given the opportunity to check out a library book. Upon checkout, barcode printouts will be placed in the book they select.
• Ask the Designated HCLS Library Branch Contact Links to an external site. how they want students grouped upon arrival at the library. Each branch may have different requests for manageable groupings, which can change year to year and site to site, based on the number of tour guides, available staff, time of year, etc.
• Identify chaperones. 
• Assign groups to chaperones, based on library preference. Include in chaperone materials details related to their expected role (e.g., silence cell phones, support and monitor all children in their group, etc.).
• View "Things You Can Do at a Library." Links to an external site. 
• Identify the team's "Lead Teacher."
• Complete the required Pre-Trip Lesson Plan Links to an external site..

Children's Area Maps and Icons

• Central Links to an external site.
• East Columbia Links to an external site.
• Elkridge Links to an external site.
• Glenwood Links to an external site.
• Miller Links to an external site.
• Savage Links to an external site.

   Map Icons Download Map Icons

• Introduce the "Lead Teacher" to HCLS staff members upon arrival.
• Wear HCPSS ID badges.
• Avoid allowing parent chaperones to check out books for students on their personal library cards.
• Each teacher should bring a tote bag to carry books back to the classroom.
• Bring the classroom iPad to:
  • take videos and/or pictures of the trip
  • take a picture of each child with their selected book
  • Take a group picture of your library guides to use in the classroom for discussion after the trip.
• Provide staff members with class lists and identified chaperone groups. Remind chaperones of expected roles.
• Bring printed sheets/cards to the field trip. 
• Help children state their name and present their barcode sheet upon checkout.
• Upon checkout, ensure barcode printouts are placed in each book.
• All children will be given the opportunity to check out a library book. Withholding checkout is not to be used as a punishment for student who misbehave.

• Complete the Post Trip Lesson Plan Links to an external site..
• Upon completion of the field trip, please send the bus invoice (and quote sheet, when required) for the HCLS field trip must be sent to Melanie Facchiano, Technical Assistant for Early Childhood Programs. Be sure the invoice includes the school, date, grade level, and contact person.