A Well-Lit Path: A Blog from Westtown School

What Summer Can Do for You: Four Ways that Camp Can Change Lives

Posted by Keith Stater on April 18, 2015

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Camp does change lives. You may make a new friend, discover a hidden talent, take a risk, become an integral part of a group, find a passion, conquer a fear, learn something that inspires you for the rest of your life, become confident, build new skills, and grow as an individual.

Questions to Ask in Your Camp Search
To give you a deeper understanding of camps, visit them, meet the staff, and come prepared with questions.
Ask about:

Group size: How many students are in a group, or room, or activity? What is the ratio of supervising counselors and staff to campers? For a day camp, the American Camp Association guidelines call for 1:8 for children ages 6-8; 1:10 for children ages 9-14; and 1:12 for ages 15-18.
Training: How many hours of training do counselors receive? What training programs do summer staff participate in? Do they have CPR and First aid training, and emergency plans?
Communication: How does the camp communicate with parents on a daily basis?
Mission: How does a camp describe its goals and outcomes? How do they achieve them? How is the curriculum designed?

Finding a camp that meets your family's unique criteria is not always as easy as it seems. You need to dig a little deeper, ask the right questions, visit the camp, build a relationship, and make sure there are activity options that allow for personal growth.

Summer @ Westtown attendees thrive in a rich and rewarding environment where Action-Based Education is at the core of every activity. The options abound, and our programs feature the flexibility of mixing and matching programs to fit your individual needs.


Learn More About Summer@Westtown

Topics: Summer Camps

Keith Stater

Written by Keith Stater

Keith Stater is the Auxiliary Programs Director at Westtown School in West Chester Pennsylvania. Keith is a California Mojave Desert native and a global citizen having been a Rotary foreign exchange student to Brazil in High School and a California State University Overseas Program student to France. He holds a Masters in Educational Administration from San Francisco State University. For more than 20 years he has been in education as a high school French teacher, a school administrator, part owner of a culinary school and an international education curriculum developer.