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by Karla Henderson, Ph.D., and Marge Scanlin, Ed.D.
Information is power in the world where we live. People involved in the
organized camp industry know in their hearts that camp can be good for kids
and that most camps operate successfully. In today’s world, however,
the camp profession must be able to show and communicate information about
its value and capacity to many audiences. The American Camping Association
(ACA) is committed to compiling the information needed to show the efficacy
of camp endeavors. Two recent studies, 2003 Camp Benchmarks and Youth Development
Outcomes of the Camp Experience, provide a world of information helpful
to camp staff as well as to external publics. These two studies, along with
additional youth development data to be collected in 2004 by Youth Development
Strategies, Inc. (YDSI), demonstrate both the efficiency and effectiveness
of camp programs. Here is a preview of “the latest” information
now available from ACA.
2003 Camp Benchmarks
The real value of the data contained in 2003 Camp Benchmarks is in helping
individual camp directors find baseline information. Suppose you are a director
for an agency resident camp in Iowa, and you want to find out what the “going
rate” was in 2003 for a seasonal waterfront director. The Benchmarks
Study tells you the average salary across the country in 2003 and further
details the average salary at agency/government sponsored camps and the
average for all resident camps in the Mid-American region. You find that
the median salary increase for returning staff is 5 percent a year, and
you also discover this information could be helpful in determining market
rates and setting salaries for the coming year.
Now, suppose you are a resident camp director in an independent, for-profit
camp in New Mexico, and you want to know what discount practices existed
among camps in 2003. The Benchmarks Study reveals that 69 percent of the
camps surveyed gave discounts. Interestingly, 90 percent of the independent,
for-profit camps gave discounts, and 60 percent of all the camps in the
Western region gave discounts. Further, you find that early registration,
early payment, and sibling discounts are the most common practices. Figure
1 shows average discounts as they varied for sponsors and regions.
A Snapshot of Study Results
2003 Camp Benchmarks provides data presented by the type of sponsor of the
camp: agency/government, religious, independent not-for-profit, and independent
for profit. For example, one survey question asked where the camp was operated.
Figure 2 shows the percentage of respondents’ camps that are operated
on an owned site.
An additional data analysis portrays all the day and resident camp information
by five regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Mid-America, and Western.
For example, the survey asked the salary per week of seasonal camp directors.
Figures 3 and Figure 4 on page 39 compare average salaries for seasonal
camp directors in both day and resident camp by region.
Summarizing the data in 2003 Camp Benchmarks is a complex task because
so much information exists. Figures 5 and 6 on page 39 compare day and resident
camp responses on a small number of variables about directors and budget
sizes.
A Study Comparison
Although the ACA 1999 Camp Staff Salary publication and 2003 Camp Benchmarks
do not directly compare data within the five-year period, interesting changes
were discovered when examining both research studies. Much of the data contained
in the 2003 study was not collected for the 1999 Salary Study since the
latter publication focused exclusively on salaries. In addition, the titles
of positions were not always the same, and data in the 1999 study were divided
between salaries for first-year staff compared to “veteran”
staff. Nevertheless, Tables 1 and 2 on page 41 illustrate statistical changes.
As would be expected, the salaries of both full-time and seasonal staff
increased for most of the positions.
Further data are available in the Benchmarks Study about camp budgets.
This can be helpful in planning or analyzing your own budget against others
like yours — whether based on region of the country, or size of budget.
The following delineates a few of the significant budget-specific findings
from the Benchmarks Study:
- Day camps received 89 percent of their operating income from camper
fees in the summer.
- Resident camps got 78 percent of their income from fees in the summer
and annually received 59 percent of their entire operating budget from
fees.
- Rentals accounted for an average of 13 percent for resident camps with
contributions in the form of capital, operating, or camperships comprising
almost 20 percent of the revenue.
- Thirty-four percent of the day camps said they had a camp store while
75 percent of the resident camps had a store.
- The biggest selling item in all camps was clothing followed by food
and snacks and then souvenirs.
- The largest annual expenditures at day camps were year-round staff
(29 percent of the budget); followed by part-time staff (18 percent);
and program and supplies (8 percent), with various other line items contributing
less than 5 percent in expenses.
- For resident camps, year-round staff comprised 23 percent of the budget
with part-time staff at 16 percent, food at 11 percent, and other line
items such as benefits, insurance, and utilities contributing less than
6 percent each.
The tables in 2003 Camp Benchmarks also provide interesting comparative
data. For example, independent, for-profit resident camps got 96 percent
of their revenues from camper fees compared to 49 percent for independent,
nonprofit camps. Some small regional differences were also evident —
in New England resident camps, the percentage of salaries for year-round
and part-time staff were almost the same (19 percent) while in the Southern
region, almost twice as much of the budget (25 percent) was for year-round
staff compared to seasonal staff (13 percent).
Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience
During the summers of 2002 and 2003, ACA undertook the biggest comprehensive
study of camper outcomes ever conducted in the U.S. The Youth Development
Outcomes of the Camp Experience Study was funded by a major grant from the
Lilly Endowment in Indianapolis, Indiana, with additional assistance from
the CAMPaign ’07 (ACA’s current fund-raising initiative). A
total of 125 ACA camps participated in pilot testing, field testing, and
in the stratified sample for data collection. The goals of the research
project were:
1. To measure change in a subset of important developmental constructs
such as positive identity and social skills; and
2. To ascertain factors that might be associated with positive change such
as length of stay, type of camp, and program format.
Most people associated with organized camps believe that youth development
is what organized camping is all about. Youth development is the process
of enhancing adolescent experience and promoting the successful transition
from childhood to adulthood. With this definition in mind, the ACA Research
Committee, ACA staff, and external research consultants from Philiber Research
Associates identified ten developmental areas or constructs that appeared
from the camp and youth development literature to capture camp experiences:
positive identity, adventure/exploration, making friends, peer relationships,
overcoming insecurity, independence, leadership, environment, positive values,
and spirituality.
Good News!
From the pre-survey (a month before camp) to the post-survey (at the end
of camp), campers reported that they gained on six of the ten constructs!
The greatest gain was in adventure/exploration (learning new skills and
doing things they don’t do at home) followed by making friends, positive
identity, independence, leadership, and spirituality. According to the camper
data, a small decrease occurred in peer relationships with no change in
feeling secure, environment attitudes, and positive values. Parents, on
the other hand, believed that gains were made in all the constructs from
the pre-to-post survey with the greatest gains in adventure/exploration
skills, making friends, becoming more independent, and peer relationships.
Knowing that Positive Change Occurs Is Important
The camper characteristics associated with change are still being studied
and wil be reported in a future issue of Camping Magazine. Campers who came
to camp with lower pre-camp scores (i.e., those who reported lower skill
levels of social functioning) showed more positive change than those who
came with higher self-reports. Conversely, campers who came to camp with
high precamp scores were more likely to show slight negative change than
others. Most of the overall changes were small but it was clear that when
children were high functioning when beginning the program, the room for
change was limited. Older children, those over ten, showed more positive
change in all of the areas except environment and positive values. Boys
seemed to show more change than girls in independence and positive values
as expressed by parents. Camp staff thought that boys had more positive
change than girls related to social skills.
To the extent that youth development can be enhanced, however, we must
uncover the characteristics related to change. For instance, in early analysis
we are seeing that religiously affiliated camps appear most likely of the
sponsoring groups to see statistically significant positive change in their
most important outcome which, in most cases, was spiritual growth. These
camps have something to teach the rest of us about how to integrate our
most important outcomes into everyday camp life. In other initial data analyses,
it appears that camp characteristics such as session length, sponsorship,
day or resident structure, staff to camper ratio, experience of the director,
staff turnover, camper fees, budget size, or program structure seem not
to be related to outcome changes. Change, however, did vary from camp to
camp. The factors at play are still being analyzed and final results could
clarify these statements.
In the coming months, this rich data set will be more closely examined
to ascertain where other relationships might exist and to determine if multivariate
combinations of factors contribute to camper outcomes. Additional reports
will be offered in Camping Magazine, in regional and national conferences,
and in other ACA communication venues.
Enhancing Supports and Opportunities for Youth
During the summer of 2003, while evaluating what program characteristics
may be related to the positive changes analyzed in the Youth Development
Outcomes Study, the work of Youth Development Strategies, Inc. (YDSI) was
examined. Dr. Michelle Gambone and her staff at YDSI have validated a way
to measure the supports and opportunities associated with attaining strong
youth outcomes that predict achievement of long-term outcomes in adulthood.
This is exciting and ground-breaking work! Among the supports examined in
the YDSI work are supportive relationships, meaningful opportunities for
involvement, challenging and engaging activities, and safety.
The YDSI survey for camps was piloted in four of the camps who participated
in the 2002-2003 ACA Outcomes Project. The results were enlightening! Young
people in the camps (N=582) showed markedly stronger performance than young
people in other youth development programs and middle or high schools, particularly
in the dimension of “supportive relationships.” Campers in the
four camps reported that supportive relationships, which included aspects
of guidance, emotional support, practical support, adults’ knowledge
of youth, and peers’ knowledge of youth were rated as optimal by almost
70 percent of the respondents. A sense of physical safety was rated as optimal
by 55 percent of the campers and emotional safety was optimal for 69 percent.
Scores related to youth participation were lower with only 13 percent reporting
that input and decision making were optimal and only 2 percent reporting
optimal opportunities for leadership at camp. Almost 50 percent of the campers
reported opportunities for skill building (e.g., growth and progress, challenging,
and interesting) were optimal.
When the data from the four ACA camps were compared to other baseline data
that YDSI collected from youth development organizations, middle schools,
and high schools, a significantly higher percentage of campers reported
optimal levels of these dimensions. However, it must be remembered that
these campers came from just four camp programs. Much more study is needed.
Because of the potential to establish benchmarks for youth development programs
in general, and camps in particular, the next step in the ACA research efforts
is to strengthen the performance of camps in implementing recognized and
validated youth development strategies. One way to accomplish this goal
is by benchmarking YDSI’s Supports and Opportunities Survey in a large
number of camps, evaluating the strategies that lead to improved performance,
and sharing the results with the youth development field and with camps.
Therefore, in the summer of 2004, ACA administered the YDSI survey in
approximately eighty camps. This information will assist in establishing
a standardized youth development evaluation system for camps and will contribute
to our understanding the relationship between supports and opportunities
for youth and camper outcomes. This information will make a major contribution
to youth development understanding in our society.
After the data from the YDSI survey are analyzed, the plan is for a sample
of camps to come together to develop and then implement improvement strategies.
During the summer of 2005, this sample will be resurveyed to ascertain if
the improvement strategies have contributed to an increased number of campers
reporting optimal experiences. ACA and YDSI will collect information on
the strategies to evaluate their effectiveness in improving practices. This
foundation will ultimately result in the establishment of “best practices”
for youth development in camps and other youth programs.
Embracing the Information Age
The ACA 2003 Camp Benchmarks Study, the Youth Development Outcomes of the
Camp Experience Study, and the YDSI survey confirm ACA’s commitment
to tapping the value of research initiatives in the current techno-savvy
information age. For years to come the information gleaned from these studies,
as well as future studies that use these data as a foundation, will provide
credible information, enabling camp professionals to focus on the effectiveness
of all efforts to enrich the lives of children and adults.
Originally published in the 2004 September/October
issue of Camping Magazine.
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