As schools discuss their reopening plans for the fall, camp administrators say they have advice on best safety practices.

What You Need To Know

  • According to the American Camp Association, more than 60% of day camps opened their doors this summer

  • Now as students return to schools, camp leaders say they hope schools will take a note from their success

  • From sheltering in place two weeks before the start of camp, to using outdoor spaces and proper ventilation, the ACA says schools can bring students together safely if they follow precautions and families and staff comply

“We’ve been really talking to kids, talking to parents about this. Preparing them for being in a school setting as best as we can,” said Michael Garcia, camp director at Camp Centerland in Buffalo.

According to the American Camp Association, they’ve safely run over 3,000 day and overnight camps this summer.

They say that’s because of strict procedures, and more importantly, compliance.

“Camps that have the highest level of compliance — when they really emphasize to parents to shelter in place at the beginning; when they really empathize for the campers’ mask, physical distancing, group cohosting — the more compliant they were more successful campus,” said Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of American Camp Association.  

At the beginning of the summer, they hired consultants who, in addition to masks and social distancing, suggested the two-week quarantine prior to camp, and breaking students down into smaller groups called pods, or bubbles.  

Now, as campers turn in their scrapbooks and replace them with textbooks, camp leaders say schools can learn from their success.

“I’m a firm believer that camps are the test ground for how schools are going to run and successful schools are going to look at schools and say camps managed it this way, camps did it this way, we can kind of take over and continue these processes,” said Garcia.

The process includes pre-screening, quarantining, and altering programs.

Camp leaders say they recognize they have less students, and more space but suggest better ventilation for indoors or resulting to camp-style teaching and community building.

“Many schools are within a short distance of a park. How can we maybe use a nearby park; how can we partner with a nearby community building, that may not be used,” said Rosenberg.

Garcia says in whatever capacity students return to school, parents, teachers, and administrators should remember empathy.

“How can we put ourselves in the shoes of the people we’re providing care for?” said Garcia.