Evaluation

This blog describes the findings about how camps evaluate their character-focused work, including lessons learned from evaluating character-focused work and external resources from ACA’s Character at Camp Landscape Scan.

Anyone who claims to love receiving feedback is either stretching the truth or blessed with nerves of steel. Feedback can be tough to hear. Most of us approach it with pride and...

In my decades-long career as a camp professional and outdoor educator, one of my favorite parts has been problem-solving. How can I, in whatever role I find myself, help make the...

Here are some recent learnings and identified gaps related to the Camp Program Quality Initiative.

Another camp season is complete. After working overtime to ensure that every session was special, enriching, and fun-filled, we camp professionals are finally able to exhale. We...

You did it! You’ve checked all the boxes and hired a full team of staff for the summer — counselors, lifeguards, ropes experts, and everything in between. As spring fully begins...

Building systems of continuous quality improvement within our camps and greater community ultimately supports our goal of positive youth development — and this is exactly what the Camp Program Quality Initiative has set out to do.

Improving the quality of your camp programs and activities requires attention to your own continuing education and professional development.  Yet many middle managers and camp...

Hello camp friends, and welcome to the second in our short Research 360 series focusing on evaluation during the time of COVID-19. In our first blog we suggested that, like trees...

Picture this: You notice that a small sapling you planted a while ago is at last large enough that it no longer requires stakes to stay upright. It takes two hands to wrap around...