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 The
busy time of the year for camp professionals
has come and gone, and we now have some
time to reflect on the summer and plan
for next year. One of the things
at the top of my list is to become very
familiar with the American Camp Association
(ACA)'s new standards.
Last month, section standards chairpersons
and visitor instructors met to learn about
our new standards program and to plan for
training of visitors. They also were among
the first to see the new standards publications,
which have now been sent to all accredited
camps. The binder format for the
standards is a great tool for directors,
as any updated pages will be published
on ACA’s Web site and can be downloaded
easily. With a list serve available
for instructors, questions about the new
standards can be addressed and information
shared quickly as all of us get into the
detailed work of attending or presenting
training. As additional questions
come up, Wes
Bird and
Kim
Bronson from the ACA
national office will be available to keep
standards chairpersons and instructors
informed on a timely basis through not
only the Web site, but also the standards
newsletters and e-mails.
As an association, we owe our thanks to
the National Standards Commission, the
section standards chairpersons, visitor
instructors, volunteers, and all of the
national and section staff who have worked
so conscientiously on the revision to the
standards program. It was a tremendous
accomplishment to approve the new standards
in February during our national conference
in Chicago. However, that was just part
of the process. For the past six months,
our colleagues have worked diligently to
design the new standards publications,
include photographs to illustrate the standards,
ensure that the language of the standards
and the interpretations were just right,
and develop training for the field. We
can now point with pride to the new publications
of our standards, knowing that they are
the generally accepted practices and procedures
in our field throughout the world, brought
to you by the largest and only national
organization that accredits camps—the American Camp Association. |
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