Camp Visit

I am an ACA (American Camp Association) accreditation visitor. That means that once or twice a summer, I leave my camp and go to another camp to walk around, go through their accreditation paperwork so that they can get re-accredited. Each ACA camp goes through the process every 3 years.

It is a great chance to see other camps, get ideas and also be familiar with the standards so that when camp goes through re-accreditation again, it is easier because I know the standards well. I've only been on a few visits, but they've all gone well.

Until today.

In June, their camp director left and they requested that their visit be moved to next year. But the accreditation chair said they had to go through it. The head visitor and I were nervous going into it because they seemed to be a little bit disorganized.

The camp was in the middle of NOWHERE and I got lost. The head visitor was also lost (even more than me) so we started the day a little late and a little crabby. When I actually arrived at the camp, the director didn't greet me or direct me where to go. None of the staff stopped me as I wandered through camp.

When we finally began the visit, the tour went well. It is a cute little camp that needs some fixing up, but has potential. Their programs left a little to be desired. When we talked to the kids and staff about what they were doing, it sounded like it was mostly unstructured and a lot of group games. They ran arts and crafts, nature, and swimming, but nothing else.

When it came time to look at the paperwork, they brought out the binder and a stack of loose papers. We spent the next 5 hours searching for necessary documentation and checking "no" on standard after standard. Even the easy ones like insurance (which they definitely have because they are part of a bigger organization) they didn't have because they didn't take the time to print off the paperwork.

I understand that it is chaotic when there is a change to the staff, but they had almost 2 months and they didn't appear to even make an attempt. What was even more frustrating is that the program manager has overseen the camp for 12 years so she knows what is expected. She said that 3 years ago, they "passed with flying colors" but if that was the case, why didn't they have ANYTHING for this visit?

In the end, they missed 4 mandatory standards, which means they have 10 days to correct them or they automatically lose accreditation. They got "no" on a lot of other standards so I'm not sure if they will pass anyway.

It was frustrating to give up my whole day for a camp that put in such little effort. It was also frustrating to see a camp with such lax safety standards.

Driving back to camp, I felt like I was returning to a 5 star hotel. When I got back, camp looked bigger, cleaner, more organized, and fancier overall. They staff and kids were cheering and busy with their well planned, very structured scheduled activities. I was filled with pride.

Sometimes a little perspective helps re-align your sight. This has been a summer of flooding, cleaning up, mold, and messes. But it could be worse...