We mistakenly signed up our son to participate in a S.W.A.T. Ski trip to Utah. This company has the appearance of providing a well-chaperoned high school related function. Our sons school perpetuated the trip through student activities. Their flyers and web site gives the facade of legitimacy. DO NOT be fooled into a false sense of security!
I happen to teach at another high school in the neighboring community. When I inquired of my students if our school does these SWAT trips they almost in unison started laughing. Every student said those trips are for stoners (kids that like to party). Sadly this information came after the fact.
We arrived at the school at approximately 5:00 AM. The bus was very late and showed up after picking up students from another high school. They had to completely unload the bus; kids, suitcases and snowboards. Nobody paided any attention to the informed limits on 1 bag/suitcase per student. It should have been a redflag.
Within one hour of their departure our son gave us a call. He was laughing saying that kids were rolling joints right in front of the supervisor. Later on he would tell us that kids were smoking pot in the bathroom. The supervisor was a joke and alienated all kids immediately, including the users.
The situation deteriorated from the beginning and continually got worst. Many of the kids also brought alcohol. The supervisors provided a "drunk room" where kids could "sleep it off" when they became drunk. The hotel never provided maid service and my son and his hotel roomamtes had to use the same wet towels the entire stay. The 24 hour room is a joke. The kids were discouraged from going there by the supervisors.
These same supervisors are the one's that provided the lift tickets to the kids on the bus in the morning after they boarded the bus before departing to the ski resort. On the third day the supervisor said he only had 17 lift tickets for the bus of 40 kids! Needless to say we paid for 3 days of skiing and only got 2. Maybe the supervisor needed to supplement his pay.
In December of 08, after the trip we called the company twice. Both times we were told that somebody would get back to us, it never happened. We contacted the BBB in Southern California and filed a complaint in January of 09. The Better Business Bureau contacted us after a couple of months and said that SWAT has ignored there attempts to mediate our complaint. On June 29th SWAT responded and denied our request for a partial refund that we based on not delivering what we paid for.
This is far from over. I have spent thirty years as an educator and what SWAT does is appalling. SWAT's only recourse is why aren't more parents complaining. On the trip our son took, he and his friend from school were the only two non-users on their bus. Ironically this trip provided an opportunity for our son to be faced with the ultimate temptation. On the trip home he was the most popular person on his bus as all the other kids were quizzing him on how he avoided the temptation. He got an opportunity to validate his lifestyle and choices.
Some kid is going to pay the ultimate price. Obviously in life the bottom line is profit and SWAT doesn't realize their ultimate responsibility is the safety of these adolescents.
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