Reading about the Roman Empire or World War II Germany in textbooks is one thing, but nothing can replace the opportunity to see the Colosseum or a concentration camp in person.

Luckily for Lehighton Area School District students, they are continuing to get that experience thanks to high school social studies teacher Mike Feifel.

After former Lehighton art teacher Mike Reenock left the district in 2018, Feifel took over his summer international travel program, which will see participants touring Berlin, Prague and Budapest in 2023, and Germany and the Alps in 2024.

“It’s all about educating kids on site and taking the classroom to the places we are talking about,” Feifel said.

While the trip is geared toward Lehighton students, the district does not officially sponsor it because it would then have to take on certain liabilities such as insurance.

Instead, Superintendent Dr. Christina Fish said they back it in an unofficial capacity as an extension of the classroom.

“I think it’s great these students are getting a chance to go places they are studying and may not get a chance to go otherwise,” Fish said at a workshop meeting Monday night.

Feifel said he uses EF Educational Tours to organize the tours due to their level of support and the offices they have in many of the countries he and the students visit.

“They have been doing this for 55 years,” Feifel said. “We have a 24/7 tour guide and their assistance is first class. If there is an issue, they take care of it. We got stuck in Toronto one time and needed an extra night. They took care of everything. They found us a hotel and transportation and got us everything we needed.”

The number of students/parents who attend the trips vary. There have been as many as 20 participants in the past, but Feifel said this summer’s trip to Eastern Europe will only have six.

“I think the situation in the Ukraine has some folks a little concerned about this one,” he said.

Next year, however, there are already 11 people signed up for the Germany/Alps trip. Everyone has to pay their own way, with that trip costing $3,700 per student, which includes flights and transportation in Europe.

“We’ll be flying into Frankfurt and visiting Munich, which has a ton of history,” Feifel said. “We have a tour at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. We’ll also be going to Salzburg where we’ll have a chance to see some of the Sound of Music sites and touring King Ludwig’s castle. Then of course we’ll also have the Swiss Alps experience, which we are looking forward to.”

In addition to Lehighton High School students, past trips included parents, recent graduates and others who may not attend the school but have a sibling who does or another connection to the district. Feifel said middle school students could also attend, but the district would advise parents also go in that situation.

LASD director Jeremy Glaush encouraged the district to give Feifel some space on its website to promote the trips.

“In the past it hasn’t been advertised because it is not a school sponsored event,” Fish said. “But we were going to seek the board’s permission to start doing that. I think the luxury of this not being school sponsored is we can open it up to other districts.”