“Trip of a lifetime”: Fort Concho Elementary students share experience at Washington, D.C.
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Students from Fort Concho Elementary School packed their bags and flew to Washington, D.C., for a field trip during spring break, taking home new experiences and learning about the history of the United States. Here’s what they did and learned.
The field trip is part of a decades-long tradition observed by Fort Concho Elementary School. The idea for the field trip was first executed 20 years ago by Penny Watson, a fifth grade teacher at Fort Concho Elementary School and the sponsor for the 2024 field trip.
“This was my 12th year to go over the last 20 years,” Watson said. “The reason I first did it was because I met a teacher from another school district that had done it, and I just thought it would be a great trip to take kids on.”
The field trip isn’t affiliated with the San Angelo Independent School District, meaning that each student needed to acquire the approximately $2,500 needed to pay their way by themselves, be it through fundraisers, scholarships or donations from friends and family. Ten students were able to attend this year’s field trip, who are as follows:
Tyler Burch
Kamden Okerstrom
Bentlee Colvert
Justin Hunter
Hartlyn Hoak
Taylor Kauten
Julian Rameriz
Jesus Carrillo
Marlee Garza
Dave Winkler
The trip began on March 9 when the trip-goers loaded a bus and trekked to Dallas Love Field for an early-morning flight that sent them on their way to Washington. The children spent four days seeing all that the region had to offer after they arrived, including tourist hotspots such as the Washington Monument, Ford Theater, Mount Vernon and, of course, the Capitol building.
“My favorite part of the trip was definitely going to Mount Vernon or going to the Washington Monument,” a student said.
The kids also got the chance to learn about the three branches of the federal government and their roles in our daily lives from Rep. August Pfluger, a congressman from San Angelo, Texas. After their discussion ended, Pfluger presented them with a U.S. flag flown over the Capitol in their honor alongside a signed Congressional Certificate verifying the flag’s authenticity and commemorating their meeting.
“I felt like it was a very high honor, for him to take the time to do that for us,” Watson said.
After their time in Washington came to an end, the students returned to San Angelo on March 14 to spend the rest of spring break sharing their experiences with their loved ones. Many of the kids said that the field trip was highly informative and broadened their understanding of U.S. history and the federal government.
“I don’t think that there was any point that we were bored,” a student said. “We were always doing something, always learning. I felt 10 times smarter.”
Watson couldn’t be happier to know that the students gained something from the trip, and she hopes that the in-person approach to learning about the nation’s history will help them retain the knowledge they’ve gathered.
“When you teach history from a book or from a lesson in class, I don’t think it has the impact it has when you’re up close and personal and seeing where it actually happened,” Watson said. “It’s more impactful for them to see it in person. It’s a lot easier to remember things that you can see in person rather than just read about in a book or study on the internet.”
As for the students? They wish that everyone — especially other students — could get the chance to go to Washington, D.C., to experience and learn about U.S. history just like they did.
“I think that everybody should go to Washington, D.C., because they can learn a lot,” a student said. “I think every school should get to do that trip, it was so fun! It’s the trip of a lifetime.”
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