WorldStrides
 |
|
| Industry | Educational Travel |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters |
Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. (GPS: 38°2′4.2″N 78°29′11.4″W / 38.034500°N 78.486500°W) |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Jim Hall (CEO) |
| Services |
Group travel Student travel Educational travel |
| Divisions | WorldStrides Discoveries Programs WorldStrides OnStage Programs WorldStrides Capstone Programs WorldStrides Perspectives Programs |
| Website | WorldStrides.com |
WorldStrides is a company that organizes student travel packages for schools. It was founded as Lakeland Tours in 1967 by a middle school social studies teacher. WorldStrides is accredited as a school by Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and AdvancED. It is a privately held American company, owned by The Carlyle Group, Charlesbank Capital Partners, and Silverhawk Capital Partners. WorldStrides is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia and maintains 16 office locations.
In the late 1990s, Lakeland Tours, American Student Travel, Educational Field Studies, Heritage Festivals, Bowl Games of America, and Wider Horizons joined together to become WorldStrides. In 2008, WorldStrides merged with Field Studies Center of New York and acquired Accent Travel Group. TravelMBA and New Century Tours joined the company in 2009. Casterbridge Tours joined WorldStrides in 2011 and NETC joined in 2012. WorldPass Travel Group joined WorldStrides in 2013.
WorldStrides consists of four main divisions, announced in August 2011 as a major rebranding for the company. Programs are grouped into divisions for WorldStrides Discoveries Programs, WorldStrides OnStage Programs, WorldStrides Capstone Programs, and WorldStrides Perspectives Programs. The Discoveries Programs division provides science- and history-themed tours for elementary (primary) and middle (secondary) school groups. The Perspectives Programs division offers middle and high (secondary) school level tours to international destinations. The OnStage Programs (formerly Worldstrides Heritage Performance) offers travel to cheer-leading, band, dance, choir and orchestral groups or participate in competitions, concerts or half-time shows. The Capstone Programs division specializes in college and university travel with a focus on business and professional training.
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