Preparing for Your Accreditation Visit
We all know that preparation fosters success, and the goal of the American Camp Association is to help each of our camps achieve success in their Accreditation visit. By now, your camp should have received an email with details relating to your upcoming ACA visit. If you believe you’re scheduled for a visit and have not received notification, please reach out to Kyle Medeiros and he can help you get the information you need. While you and your team continue to prepare, we want to highlight strategies to help you achieve success:
Be Up-to-Date with your Materials and Information
Knowledge is power, and having that power will support success. There are two ways to make sure that you have the information you need:
Have the Accreditation Process Guide v.2019. Since your last Accreditation Visit, there has been updates to the book of Standards known as the APG. They’ve been reorganized and many of the redundancies have been removed. If you do not have a copy of the most current APG, please contact Kyle.
Take the Accreditation Process Workshop. Different than previous years, this course is being administered via a self-guided virtual course through the ACA Learning Center. To register for one of these mandatory workshops, you must first register for one of our virtual follow-ups. From there, registration information will be provided.
Identify Resources to Support Organization & Preparation
One of the biggest pieces of advice that ACA provides to camps seeking Accreditation is to not “recreate the wheel.” The ACA website hosts so many helpful tools and resources, so let’s highlight a few of them:
The Expanded Written Documentation Review. While no longer required for camp seeking re-accreditation, this tool is strongly suggested as it lays out all of the written documentation that is required for the visit, and provides a check-list and organizational tool to ensure that it is all accounted for.
The Accreditation Academy. Here is where you will find tips, timelines, resources, and tools to help you prepare for and achieve success on your Accreditation Visit. Here is where you will find the Accreditation Standards Toolkits which includes sample policies, forms, and checklists to help demonstrate compliance.
Involve the Whole Team. To make a camp season happen, it takes the cooperation and input of your entire team – that is also the best strategy for a positive Accreditation visit. Using your camps team as a resource will allow for greater investment in the process, combined thought and brainstorm power, and a disbursement of the work.
The last piece of advice we can give at this time is to ask for help or support when it is needed. Not only are the ACA Staff Members and Website great resources, but the members of our greater camp community who serve as Accreditation Volunteers are able to offer support in many different capacities as you and your team prepare. If you’d like to be connected with one of those Volunteers, just let Kyle know.