07.1 Selection Checklist

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHECKLIST FOR CHAPTER 7:
Step 0: Send Away for or Download Information Packets

• If you don’t have a pile of camp information packets, then you must have skipped Chapter 6.  Go back and gather the information you need before you start this chapter.

Step 1: Evaluate the Camp’s Features

• Do you like the variety and type of activities?  Do some activities cost extra?
• Are the facilities and equipment in good shape?  Are they what your child wants?  Can campers bring their own equipment?
• Is the dining cafeteria-style, family-style, or something else?  Are the foods on the menu appetizing?  Do they meet your child’s dietary needs?
• Is the variety of natural landscapes and man made environments pleasing?  Is the atmosphere of the camp commercial or natural?
• Does your child like the way the camp structures the daily schedule, program choices, and grouping of campers?  Are his favorite activities available often?

Step 2: Evaluate the Camp’s Character

• What kind of reputation and background does the camp have?  Have there been significant staff, leadership, or facility changes lately?  Why?
• What experience and qualifications does the director have?  Is she easy to relate to?  Does she have a background in teaching or a child-related vocation?
• Are the camp’s traditions, mix of other children, and manners an asset?
• Are the camp’s mission, values, and discipline style appealing?  How do cabin leaders provide support when campers need it?  Do these philosophies match your own?

Step 3: Evaluate the Camp’s Quality

• Is the camp accredited by the American Camping Association?  (Many good camps are not, but this is one factor to consider.)
• How qualified are the instructors?  Are instructors of high-risk programs certified?
• Are most staff certified in first aid and CPR? 
• What is the camp’s safety record?
• Are the staff, especially the cabin leaders, experienced and well-trained?  Were they recruited from outside the camp, or were they once campers at that camp?  Are they promoted based on how well they work with children?  What is the average tenure of cabin leaders?
• Do the international cabin leaders and instructors speak fluent English?
• What is the real camper-to-leader ratio?  How much time do cabin leaders actually spend with their campers each day?
• Is the camp’s health center clean and well equipped?  Are the medical staff qualified?  Is there a hospital and/or a doctor affiliated with the camp, in case of emergencies?

Step 4: Evaluate the Camp’s Service

• Are you comfortable with the ways you can contact camp in an emergency?  Is it clear who is in charge at the camp?
• Are you comfortable with the ways the camp permits parents and children to stay in contact, by phone, visits, letters, faxes, or e-mails?
• Is the campers’ contact with the “outside world” in the spirit of the camp?  Are the out-of-camp trips well supervised?  Are there extra fees involved?

Step 5: Evaluate the Camp’s Cost

• Can you afford the cost of the camp?  Is it a good value?
• Are the tuition, fees, and spending money allocations reasonable?  Do they cover everything you want?
• If the cost of the camps you like seems too high, have you researched scholarships?  Even if you don’t need a scholarship, what ways can your child help earn money for camp?

Step 6: Conduct Personal Interviews and Inspections

• Narrow your list down to five or six camps using Steps 1-5 above.
• Contact the directors of those five or six camps and ask them any unanswered questions that you have about their camps.
• Contact personal references (parents and children who know the camp) and ask them about their experiences.
• If possible, schedule a time with the camp director when you can visit the camp and inspect its environment, atmosphere, facilities, and equipment yourself.

BUYER BEWARE

A word of caution before you start: Promotional materials that camps publish, such as colorful brochures and video tapes, are advertisements.  The camp is trying to sell itself to you by emphasizing its best parts.  Remember, though, that you need to know about all parts of a camp before you can make a wise choice.  Choosing a camp based on a few attractive pictures or a few smiling faces is like buying a car because it’s painted a pretty color.  If the promotional material you receive from a camp doesn’t answer the questions relevant to you, you’ll need to dig deeper.  Otherwise, you don’t know what you’re getting into.

PREVIOUS                    TABLE OF CONTENTS                    NEXT

©2009 by Jon Malinowski & Christopher Thurber. All rights reserved.

No part of this website may be copied or used in any way without permission. If you wish to share the content of this site, please link to http://summercamphandbook.com or contact us for licensing.