My name is Mark Clarke, I am the president of Jumpstreet Tours. What follows is a personal story...

     I was 12. It was the mid 1970's. Everyone in my family, my mom, 6 brothers and sisters and I were unilingual English and only dad was bilingual. A separatist party was coming into power and Quebec would change forever. The Olympics were coming to Montreal and people from all over the world would be there. Airplanes and TV were making the world an international place even for the little guy. My sister Janice had just come back from her turn as part of a Swedish student-exchange program. We were all so excited for her. The last time any member of our family had been to Europe was my dad as a fire-fighter for the allies during WWII.

     My parents were smart, hard-working people. They knew that the world was changing and they applied themselves to teach us to embrace change. My parents were PTA members and they lobbied tirelessly for better French-language programming. We had a house rule; If we watched English TV we had to watch a daily equivalent of French TV. There would be little pieces of paper taped all over the house with object names and genders written in French. The mantra in our house was that a second language was the ticket to a fulfilling future. Naturally, when our school board initiated its first full French-immersion program in 1975 I enrolled, consciously at 12 years old.

     I remember that academic calendar year. All of my schooling was in French. It was a different school and all of the familiar faces were gone. It was in a different neighborhood. It was far away from home and I had to take a bus and eat lunch in the cafeteria. I worked harder than ever before but could not do better than a "B" average. I involved myself in extra-curricular activities and won the opportunity to play the role of "king" at our winter carnival. There was a week-long immersion winter ski trip, and of the 350 kids, 7 of us could not go. In my case, at the time we could not afford it. At the end of that school year my dad died from a cardiac-arrest (to this day I still think it may have been my mom's raisin pie). It was a very challenging year, but I stayed in that program for another 5 years. I toughed it out and acquired that second language.

     In 1983 at 19 years old, while teaching a Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation course, a man named Peter offered me the chance to be a tour leader on French immersion tours for teens. It was an opportunity I could not refuse... I took that opportunity and loved every minute of it. It is now over 20 years later. My brother Tom and I own the absolute best reputation in the educational tour market. I still lead tours, and not because I have to but rather because I still love to. My parents taught me to persevere, to respect others, to work hard and to be curious; they taught me to recognize the legitimacy of other people and their cultures. My parents told me that I could make a difference and encouraged me to do so. During the past 20 years, I have dedicated my life to literally tens of thousands of adolescents.

     Although it was my parents who gave me the necessary tools to be the best that I am able, it is the parents of all of these young people who have permitted me the opportunity to apply those tools. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your trust. Thank you for enabling me to honor the legacy of my parents. I want to work for you, I want to share with you that legacy.

* Please visit our Company Profile, Testimonials, and our Administration/Board pages. These pages should answer many of your questions about our company.

* Motorcoach transportation is very safe. Please visit the United Motorcoach association web-site for information specific to student tour travel (choice number 2 under "Consumer Help").

* Student tour dress code is casual/clean, with loose fitting clothing for the "to and from leg" of the transportation. Jumpstreet tours will forward clothing documentation through your child's teacher, based upon the time of year of the anticipated travel. Common-sense rules apply.

* I encourage you to call us with any questions which are not adressed by our site at 1 800 663 4956. Ask for me (Mark Clarke) or my brother Tom. We would like to speak with you , even if only to have the chance to say thank-you.