Setting the Standard
Yesterday was a big day at camp, one we’ve been preparing five years for! Despite the importance of the event though, it was likely one that campers didn’t even realize was taking place behind the scenes.
Yesterday was our American Camp Association Compliance Review to maintain our Accreditation. What does this mean, and how is it relevant to summer operations?
The American Camp Association (ACA) is the only national accrediting body for camps. Being accredited means achieving a set of about 300 “standards” across health, safety, and risk management practices. It’s a rigorous process, but accreditation is voluntary. Unlike our mandatory Health Inspections, camps aren’t required to become accredited.
So why would they choose to?
Working on maintaining our accreditation status increases our mindfulness in all areas of the business. It encourages us to keep pursuing improvement,” says Communications Director, Paige Hafner, who acts as our ACA Coordinator. “Yes, we can meet the standard, but how can we be better? How can we make our policies and practices the best they can be?
To maintain ACA Accreditation status, camps are visited every 5 years as part of a peer-review process. Camp professionals, trained to look for compliance in the ACA standards, visit camp to see how things run in-person. Yesterday we were visited by Alicia McClain Hawkins (of Camp Tekoa), Lynn Rogers (of Bonclarken Conference Center), and Lori Zeligman (of Camp Judaea).
During the visit, they reviewed our compliance in the 7 areas of Accreditation:
- Core: including camper development, rights and dignity of campers/staff, and the goals/outcomes of participants
- Administration: including emergency response, vehicle use, transportation procedures, hiring procedures, trip standards
- Facilities: including fire safety, emergency exits, sleeping quarters, food service, and maintenance systems
- Health and Wellness: including medical facilities, record keeping, and medication storage and administration
- Staff and Supervision: including staff qualifications, training requirements, camper supervision and ratios
- Program Design and Activities: including program equipment maintenance, safety orientation, protective gear, and activity design
- Program Aquatics: including standards for safety in the water
I trained to become a visitor during my first year working full time at Camp Tekoa. I did it for educational purposes, to learn more about how to be better in this industry.
Alicia McClain Hawkins, 10-Year ACA Visitor
The visitation began with a demonstration of our proprietary data management system which we’ve nicknamed “Chuck Norris,” since it can “do it all.” This system keeps track of camper information like allergies or medications, and tracks camper attendance within daily activities, as well as on trips out of camp. Our outgoing adventure trip process and vehicle preparation procedures were then reviewed, followed by a tour of camp.
During the tour, locations around camp were reviewed for standard compliance, including the cabin areas, the infirmary, and the kitchen. Activity areas were also reviewed, especially ones with heightened risk such as riflery, archery, the climbing wall, and the waterfront.
After the physical tour, visitors review the binders we’ve assembled with our written procedures that explain the compliance for each standard. It’s a long but important process.
I like the ACA Accreditation visiting process because there’s a reason for all these procedures, and you get to see them in action,” said Lori, director of Camp Judaea. She’s been an ACA Visitor since 2022. “I learn something from each visit.
Our own Director, Marisa Pharr, trained to become an ACA Visitor last year, so she’ll visit neighboring camps herself for the peer-review process. “The Accreditation lets you know you’re hitting a list of standards. They set a high bar and ensure that we’re continuing to operate at the best of our ability,” said Marisa.
Though our ACA Compliance Review had a great deal of planning and preparation that went into it, the best part is that the campers remain unaware of the procedures that happen behind the scenes.
To them, camp is just a safe and fun place.
Of course there are visible safety systems, like the helmets at mountain biking, the eye protection at riflery, or the life jackets at the docks. But at camp, we take care to manage risk in all the details, both seen and unseen.
That way, boys are free to focus on the important stuff: enjoying their childhood summers.
What else happened on Tuesday at camp?
- Morning Watch: Mountain bike trip lead, Tessa Greep, shared a story with the camp community about a cycling injury and having to trust God as she recovered.
- Breakfast: handmade biscuits and sausage gravy with eggs and fresh strawberries
- Lunch: cilantro lime chicken soft tacos with chipotle sauce, coleslaw, yellow rice, roasted squash and zucchini, and homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
- Dinner: grilled flank steak with chimichurri, roasted potatoes, honey herb carrots, and peach cobbler for dessert.
- Evening Program: a set of rotating relay races for Green and Gold points