Camp is at its best when everyone comes with a great attitude and is able to speak and act in ways that represent our seven core values: Respect, Inclusion, Caring, Honesty, Teamwork, Environmental Stewardship, and Responsibility. A big part of our program is giving campers the opportunity to learn and practice these values.
Sometimes, the stress of meeting new people, sleeping in a new space, or the challenge of our programs can surface some ways campers have learned to cope with stress that is disruptive to the program or the safety of others. Any time we run into disruptive behavior, our staff are trained to address it head-on and, if possible, help everyone to return to a place where we can keep building healthy relationships.
There are some behaviors that will require a more definitive response.
- Any repeated behavior that puts other campers at risk – failure to follow basic safety protocols or intentionally creating an unsafe environment for others.
- Physical aggression – especially if it results in injury.
- Repeated threats, slurs, or other verbal aggression.
In these cases, we will make every effort to keep your camper in our program as long as we feel we can keep them and others safe. We see caregivers as partners in this process and will not hesitate to reach out to you if we are having trouble supporting your camper in maintaining safe behavior. In many cases, caregivers and camp staff are able to work together to help campers be successful.
Staff and caregivers may use various interventions, such as calling home, caregiver visits to camp, behavior contracting, and, in some cases, returning home early. The decision to send a camper home can be made by the Camp Director or the camper’s family.
If a camper needs to be sent home because of behavior, we are not able to offer a refund.
