Enrollment Form

Enrollment Form

Enrollment

Since the year 2000…High Trails might just be the longest running outdoor education program in the San Bernardino mountains of Southern California. A sincere THANK YOU to all of our schools, teachers, administrators, parents, students, and supporters. This will mark our 26th year of helping students experience nature in the mountains of Southern California.

How Open Enrollment Works

Open Enrollment runs during the month of April, with date assignments and contracts going out at the beginning of May.

When you submit your Enrollment form during this window does not matter; we will take all the requests and begin putting together the schedule once this Open Enrollment window ends. See below for more details about Enrollment Preference. Once this window closes and contracts are returned, openings are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Notes for this next School Year

Tuition prices have gone up slightly to reflect the increase in the CPI over the past year. This helps us cover the cost of increasing food, staff, etc., as the CPI goes up.
This coming year, every week is either marked as a 4-Day Program Week or a 3&5-Day Program Week. By default 4-Day Program Weeks are a Tuesday-Friday program, unless you specify in the Notes section you’d prefer a Monday-Thursday program. On the 3&5-Day Program Weeks, there is the option of a Monday-Wednesday program, Wednesday-Friday program, or a Monday-Friday program.
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option, look for the weeks with 3-day programs! We have added more of these weeks this year and have at least one week a month with 3&5-Day Programs. This allows us to put two 3-Day programs in one week, lowering the cost for everyone that week! And gives our staff a very reliable schedule they know from the start of the school year.
High Trails will only operate out of one site for the 2024-25 School Year: Camp Edwards. We have operated here since 2007; it’s a great little site with cabins close together, nestled in the woods. Hikes to Jenks Lake and beautiful overlooks abound! An important note: there are no bathrooms attached to cabins. There are centrally located bathhouses the students will use with their Cabin and Field Groups.
We know the number of students attending may change between when you Enroll and when you actually arrive at High Trails; this is why we have a clause in our contract that allows you to adjust your numbers to 90% of what you originally enrolled. However, we have seen bigger drops in student numbers attending than contracted recently, leaving big gaps in our schedule where we still have financial obligations – site, food, staff etc. Therefore, if the number of students attending drops more than 90%, the traditional scholarship of 1 for every 25 students attending will not be offered.

Enrollment Preferences for Schools

As we will only be operating out of one site this coming school year, unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate every school. Therefore, please review the following to understand how we give preference:

We are still asking schools to give us their top choices of dates, but along with this, we are going to give more preference to schools as we work the schedule. Preference goes to 1) longevity of your relationship with us; the longer you’ve been attending High Trails, the more we will weigh your enrollment form, 2) schools that pay their invoices on time and fill out their program and student forms on time, and 3) join us as respectful and constructive partners as we all work together to give your students a great outdoor experience.

Enrollment Form

Enrollment is closed for the 2024/25 school year. If you are interested in being added to the waitlist, please email us at hello@dirtyclassroom.com .

Pricing Details

What you see is the basic cost for program at High Trails, which includes food, lodging, and instruction for students. As noted on the Program Form, there are options that your school can choose, based on your specific needs. T-Shirts cost $10 per student, Last Day Hot Lunch costs $7 per student, and Last Day Sack Lunch costs $5 per student. If you would like us to provide Infirmary Supervision, this costs $10 per student.

We always provide two medics that take care of illnesses, medications, etc. With the basic cost, schools provide short-term supervision for students whocan’t take part in program due to illness or discipline during the daytime hours (8am-5pm), so our medic is still ready to respond to health calls. If you would like High Trails staff to cover this daytime period of supervision, is it an additional $10/student. Included in the basic cost for program, High Trails will have staff on call to cover any Infirmary Supervision needed in the evening til the morning (5pm-8am). Our medical team consists of WFRs (Wilderness First Responders or EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians), and an RN or LVN (Registered Nurse or Licensed Vocational Nurse). If you have questions about these, please check out the Program Form or email us for more details.

You Should Know…

Last year, we were able to give 95% of our schools one of their top 3 choices; though this isn’t a promise for the future it is a good indication that we do our best to make our schools happy, both in scheduling and in their experience up here in the mountains.
It is possible, especially if you choose dates in a popular time frame (March, April and May), that none of the dates you request will be available. If this happens, we will contact you with other options.
We structure our prices based on the time of year and traditional demand. Higher demand weeks have higher prices. This lets us have a full schedule and run program for the entire school year, which in turn allows us to hire quality staff.
If you are a new school considering High Trails, sign up early during Open Enrollment and please tell us what you’re looking for in an outdoor education provider. Unless we have an existing relationship with you or your school district, we may request a deposit before scheduling your school.
Every year we have schools that sign up for dates and then realize, once we have them scheduled, that the dates won’t work. To prevent this, please talk with all of your teachers and check your school calendar for Holidays, Test Dates, and other conflicts before submitting this form
We know the number of students attending may change between when you Enroll and when you actually arrive at High Trails. Contractually, if that number changes by more than 10%, we reserve the right to ask you to pay at least the 90% contracted amount. If you are unsure of how many students to put on this form, shoot us an email, and let’s talk about it!

High Trails communicates primarily via email. – hello@dirtyclassroom.com. Please notify us if you would prefer a different method of communication.

The Schools section of our website has complete information for visiting schools and teachers. If this is your first year at High Trails or if you have all new teachers coming to program, we would be happy to come down to your school and give a presentation to your parents. Our “Welcome to High Trails” letter will be emailed out to each school in early September…this will have complete details to help you prepare for your program visit.

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Monarch butterflies are amazing insects; they can change from caterpillar to beautiful winged creatures! What you may not know is they perform a second and equally amazing feat... Monarch butterflies perform a four generation long trek...

The SKINny on Shedding and Molting - Becca Baiers

This is my dog, Meg. I love everything about her. Except for the clumps of hair that accumulate in the corner of the kitchen, or end up on my clothes as I rush out the door. But...

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Popular Parent Links

Special Concerns: Information and form for special situations. Health Consent Form: required for every student attending High Trails. Medication Form: required if a student is bringing medication to High Trails. Discipline Form and Packing List: general information to prepare for your trip. Forms Video: check this out for a visual explanation of our forms. Printable Parent's Guide: used in lieu of the online Parent's Guide. Menu: a weekly list of the food up here.

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Morphology Makes You a Science Wizard - Jenna Ikwe Mennen “Who knows one characteristic of a mammal?” says every High Trails instructor, once a week. “Warm-blooded!” answers an eager student, remembering to raise their hand only after already blurting out the words. Now, how do we... Ode to Button-Pushers - Alex Rice Do you know the student who throws a stick when their instructor isn’t looking? The one who goes past the boundary their teacher very explicitly creates or breaks the rule that was thoroughly reviewed three... Toothpaste: Show Don't Tell - Kelsey Wentling Once inside the cabin, everyone shivers off their jackets and eagerly starts buzzing around the warm haven: home for the next three or four nights. Soon after, buzzing turns to chatting and not far off chatting... Why We Lorax - Penelope Burgess “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.” –Dr. Seuss What is The Lorax? 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The Yuhaviatam arrived... Mars InSight Lander - Karen Solange Fraser Mars’ latest lander, InSight, launched in May 2018 and landed in November 2018. At approximately 5 feet long and 20 feet wide, it features two solar panels, two cameras, and three scientific instruments with a... Snake Reproduction - Mallory Schmackpfeffer When we talk about snakes, the assumption that we make is that all snakes reproduce by laying eggs, but that’s only part of the story! The truth is that only 70% of snakes lay eggs... Seed Dispersal of the Black Oak - Davíd Valencia Did you know that one of the largest populations of all Black Oak trees in southern California is in the San Bernardino National Forest? [1. Tyler, Claudia M., et al. “Demography and Recruitment Limitations of... Contour vs Downy Feathers – Frazer Winsted It is the middle of Feathered Friends class. 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Purpose of Pupils - Allison Hanson Over the summer, I went hiking with some students at summer camp. On the trail, we ran into a woman taking her goats out for a walk. Yes, GOATS. Goats are great. I was then... Over the Moon...Cycle - Suzanne Bosman “The common theme of calendar making is the desire to organize units of time to satisfy the needs and preoccupations of society. In addition to serving practical purposes, the process of organization provides a sense,... Outdoor Education & Line Dancing - Jade Koenigs When I say the words “Line Dancing”, the faces of my students scrunch up into a mixture of emotions. Some voice excitement, some voice disgust, but most faces bare the unmistakable feeling of apprehension, scared for... Can A Formula Predict Floods? - Anne Sweney “From where we stand the rain seems random. If we could stand somewhere else, we would see the order in it.” –Tony Hillerman For people living in climates that are dry and arid, understanding the water... 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