<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=583909591721205&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">

Academic credit & professional development

As part of WorldStrides, Brightspark is an accredited institution just like your school. Students traveling on qualified tours have the opportunity to earn academic credit, and educators are eligible to receive free professional development.

STUDENTS

Free High School Credit

Middle and high school students traveling on selected domestic Brightspark tours have the opportunity to earn free high school credit by completing an online course following their Brightspark tour. To participate, students will be able to choose a course from the options carefully paired with their travel program, then work at their own pace to complete the online coursework within six months of their tour. Students must be in grades 6-12 at the time of travel, and they can earn 0.5 high school credits.

For more information or to enroll, email academiccredit@brightsparktravel.com.

GROUP LEADERS

Professional Development

Educators traveling on an Brightspark tour, either as a program leader or chaperone, can earn free professional development for their tour. A professional development certificate will be issued for up to 35 points/hours or 3.5 CEUs based on the length of the tour. To learn more, please email professionaldevelopment@worldstrides.com.

Graduate Credit For Teachers

Our Curriculum and Academics team, in conjunction with our university partner, the University of California, San Diego – Extension, offers teachers the opportunity to earn graduate credit. For a special educators' discount, traveling teachers are invited to participate in our online graduate credit course. To learn more, please email professionaldevelopment@worldstrides.com.

Accreditation

We are independently accredited for K-12 education by regional accrediting bodies across the nation, including:

  • Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA)
  • Cognia (formerly AdvancEd), the parent organization of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA CASI), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS CASI), and the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC).
  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
Accreditation-Logos-300