Latest ACA Blog Posts
May 25, 2011
In 1912, the first Girl Scout camp was held in Savannah, Georgia. Ever since the founding of Girl Scouts, camp has played an important role in the Girl Scout program. In 1922, the organization decided to charter camps throughout the country.
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May 18, 2011
Christopher Thurber, Ph.D., a board certified clinical psychologist, explains that what children say isn't always what they really mean.
"I don't want to play. I hate kickball." — Sophia, age five
"Ben doesn't like me. He's always mad at me." — Betrand, age nine
"This place stinks. All the activities are stupid." — Asa, age twelve
If you're like most camp staff, you bristle when you hear children say these sorts of things. Read the full article.
May 18, 2011
The U.S. Forest Service and ACA signed an agreement allowing camps to use public lands in 1995. Today, it is estimated that 9 percent of all camps use public lands and waters for at least a portion of their program.
May 11, 2011
Staff training is about what you are expected to do. The reason for those expectations is directly related to the experience every camper has at camp. Every expectation (or, in other words, every moment) should positively impact the kids' camp experience. It's pretty straightforward mathematics: Expectations + You = Camper's Experience.
May 11, 2011
In 1948, ACA adopted the Standards, which are the basis for ACA camp accreditation. ACA Standards are recognized by courts of law and government regulators as the standards of the camp industry. There are currently 300 standards for health, safety, and program. In 1954, for the first time, camps were required to provide evidence of compliance with ACA Camp Standards to be eligible for camp accreditation.
May 4, 2011
In 1975, Camping Magazine was brought in-house after being edited and published by Howard Galloway in Plainfield, New Jersey, for over thirty years.
April 27, 2011
In 1950, the Program Committee and the Inter-cultural Committee presented resolutions to the effect that ACA, in the future, use facilities in which all hospitality and privileges were extended to all members of the Association, regardless of race, creed, or color. In October of 1950, there was a motion to uphold this resolution and change hotel venues for the 1952 National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The motion was passed.
April 26, 2011
Below is the link to the reviewed/revised/reformatted standards for what, in the current Accreditation Process Guide, are the Program Trip/Travel Standards (PT).
What’s Different?
- Some re-organization of standards into general topic areas (ex: all standards that deal with “staff qualifications/supervision” are grouped together).
- Majority of the applicability statements have been incorporated at the beginning of the section.
What’s Gone?
- PT-4 Supervision Ratios: Removed the option to have only one staff member on a trip if specific criteria were met.
Please note: Once all revisions/reformatting have been completed, all standards will be assigned the appropriate number.
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April 26, 2011
Below is the link to the reviewed/revised/reformatted standards for what, in the current Accreditation Process Guide, are the Program Aquatic Standards (PA).
What’s Different?
- Some re-organization of standards into general topic areas (ex: all standards that deal with “staff qualifications/supervision” are grouped together).
- Standards that asked for the camp to do something AND to “advise user groups” have been split into separate scoreable standards, so hopefully it is clearer what is being asked (see PA-14). This step will also allow for a “cleaner” version of the standards to be accessed through the Web-based system.
- Majority of the applicability statements have been incorporated at the beginning of the section.
Please note: Once all revisions/reformatting have been completed, all standards will be assigned the appropriate number....
April 20, 2011
In 1892, Camp Arey in Arey, New York, became the first camp to admit girls. By 1902 the camp was serving girls exclusively. Other camps serving girls made their appearance in 1902 as well, including Camp Kehonka in New Hampshire, Pinelands of Center Harbor, Maine, and Wyonegonic Camps in Denmark, Maine.
Others quickly followed, such as the Aloha Camps in 1905 and Alford Lake Camp in 1907 as well as the Gulick Wo-he-lo Camp in 1910. As the movement spread, 125 girls camps were established by 1925.
Wyonegonic is the oldest continuously running camp for girls in the United States.
April 19, 2011
Below is the link to the reviewed/revised/reformatted standards for what, in the current Accreditation Process Guide, are the Health and Wellness Standards (HW).
What’s Different?
- OLD/New HW-6 Health Exams: Now asks for the camp to assess the need for a health exam based on their program and clientele.
- OLD/New HW-16 Health Care Center: The requirement for a lockable storage system for medication is now included in HW-20.
- OLD HW-20/CURRENT HW-19 Medication, Storage, and Administration: Added “storage” to this standard. Also now includes the requirement for the protocols for an RN to dispense medication.
- OLD HW-3/CURRENT HW- 11 Health Care Policies/Procedures: Areas that were covered by other standards are no longer included in this standard.
- OLD HW-12/CURRENT HW-13 Treatment Procedures: This standard has been significantly re-worded.
What...
April 13, 2011
Due to "the critical transportation problem" resulting from World War II, the Board of Directors decided to cancel the 1943 annual conference. Instead, sections were urged to hold regional conferences. The proposed theme of the conferences was "Camping, a Wartime Asset."
April 12, 2011
Below is the link to the reviewed/revised/reformatted standards for what, in the current Accreditation Process Guide, are the Human Resources Standards (HR).
What’s Different?
- Re-organization of standards into general topic areas (ex: all standards that deal with “Staff Training” are grouped together).
- HR-1 Director Qualifications now requires some written documentation.
- HR-1C Professional Development requirements is revised to better match ACA’s Professional Development Center.
- HR-4 Staff Screening: Is split into two standards. CURRENT NUMBERS: HR-4 Screening for all staff and HR-5 Screening for New Staff.
- HR-9 Camper Supervision Ratios and HR-10 Staff Age Requirements have been reorganized into CURRENT NUMBERS. HR-8 Camper Supervision Ratios and Staff Age and HR-9 Supervision Ratio Exceptions.
- HR20 (Current HR-21) Staff Observation now requires...
April 6, 2011
The latest issue of Counselor Now is available online. Read The Seven Absolutes of Camp Counseling, by Jeffrey Leiken. He writes it is always better to be thought of as a great counselor by your director than to be thought of as a cool one by your campers. Working with children should be fun, and being able to access your playfulness in order to connect with your campers is essential to your success. Just make certain that you always remember that you are the adult and that you are hired to be professional in all your decisions
Also take a moment to read Words of Encouragement to the Camp Counselor: Ideas and Tips for a Successful Summer.
April 6, 2011
In 1894, Keewaydin Camp was organized on Lake Temagami in Ontario, Canada as a canoe and wilderness camp. Today it is the oldest camp to continuously operate on the same site in North America, and the oldest canoe-trip camp in the world. The camp family has expanded to include two additional camps and a robust environmental education program.
