Message
Not at all. If you look at my wording on this post, I am specifically soliciting homeschooling-specific questions only, and directing people to the other posting for general questions. Homeschooler are often left out of the general discussions, so I believe it is important to reach out to them in particular.
I'm the volunteer Scoutmaster of new Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls that opens this and next month to serve girls age 11-17 across the District at All Souls Episcopal Church. I want to extend an invitation to families of homeschooled girls to learn about what we are doing this spring, as I believe our approach can be helpful to expose homeschooled girls to a cross-section of other girls and introduce them to activities potentially unavailable to many homeschoolers. I have already answered many general questions about our Troop on a still-active posting in the "Tweens-Teens" forum. So, I am hoping for homeschooling-specific questions on this forum.
You probably know that this is the program formerly called "Boy Scouts" implemented in an all-girl environment. Extensive information about how we will operate within the District is found at www.ScoutsBsaDcGirls.org. Our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls will be all-girl and not co-ed. Girls will elect their own leaders and lead the organization with adult advice. Our group will probably start with between 20 and 30 girls and grow to between 60 and 80 by year end. The Troop will be subdivided into smaller groups called "patrols". We have 18 adult women and men volunteer leaders already, seven of whom serve on our intensively-involved "Scoutmasters Staff", which I lead. The purpose of the organization is to teach ethical decision making skills through use of leadership, citizenship and personal fitness activities. The outdoors is one of our principal classrooms, and we will have an outdoor trip or hike each month. The entire Troop will attend a week of residential summer camp. Our girls interact with outstanding women leaders each month, as we invite them in to share their stories and respond to questions. We meet twice a month on Saturday mornings at a safe location close to a metro stop. We do not sell cookies, popcorn or any other products and rely on member dues and third-party contributions to help pay dues of children from under-resourced families.
Please post your questions and I will answer them in groups a few times a day. I won't discuss our "open house" welcome parties set for this Saturday and next Saturday, as that information is already posted in the appropriate place on this blog.
There were many postings a few months ago comparing the merits of various youth programs, and I think those issues were thoroughly discussed. So, I am going to respond to any questions about what we will be doing with the girls in Scouts BSA. I don't know much about other girl youth programs, so if you want to talk about other youth programs or the merits of girls being in Scouts BSA, I invite you to start a separate posting.
You probably know that this is the program formerly called "Boy Scouts" implemented in an all-girl environment. Extensive information about how we will operate within the District is found at www.ScoutsBsaDcGirls.org. Our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls will be all-girl and not co-ed. Girls will elect their own leaders and lead the organization with adult advice. Our group will probably start with between 20 and 30 girls and grow to between 60 and 80 by year end. The Troop will be subdivided into smaller groups called "patrols". We have 18 adult women and men volunteer leaders already, seven of whom serve on our intensively-involved "Scoutmasters Staff", which I lead. The purpose of the organization is to teach ethical decision making skills through use of leadership, citizenship and personal fitness activities. The outdoors is one of our principal classrooms, and we will have an outdoor trip or hike each month. The entire Troop will attend a week of residential summer camp. Our girls interact with outstanding women leaders each month, as we invite them in to share their stories and respond to questions. We meet twice a month on Saturday mornings at a safe location close to a metro stop. We do not sell cookies, popcorn or any other products and rely on member dues and third-party contributions to help pay dues of children from under-resourced families.
Please post your questions and I will answer them in groups a few times a day. I won't discuss our "open house" welcome parties set for this Saturday and next Saturday, as that information is already posted in the appropriate place on this blog.
There were many postings a few months ago comparing the merits of various youth programs, and I think those issues were thoroughly discussed. So, I am going to respond to any questions about what we will be doing with the girls in Scouts BSA. I don't know much about other girl youth programs, so if you want to talk about other youth programs or the merits of girls being in Scouts BSA, I invite you to start a separate posting.
Girl Led
Thanks for the thoughts on the importance of having the girls do the leading and the adults do the advising. Because we are starting from scratch and had no girls to actually help us pick the early months of activities, the best we could do is survey the girl cubs who are graduating into the troop and their parents. Once we are actually formed we will immediately begin incorporating the girls into the leadership process. They will help plan the fall activities in advance, for instance. We will probably skew to younger-aged girls at the start, so it will take a bit of time. Our women and men assistant scoutmasters have experience in boy troops and understand the importance of this.
Thanks for the thoughts on the importance of having the girls do the leading and the adults do the advising. Because we are starting from scratch and had no girls to actually help us pick the early months of activities, the best we could do is survey the girl cubs who are graduating into the troop and their parents. Once we are actually formed we will immediately begin incorporating the girls into the leadership process. They will help plan the fall activities in advance, for instance. We will probably skew to younger-aged girls at the start, so it will take a bit of time. Our women and men assistant scoutmasters have experience in boy troops and understand the importance of this.
Meeting Time Choice
Our parent formation group surveyed parents of girls on a number of things, including meeting times. We chose Saturday mornings from 10 to Noon. Reasons included that with one exception, this was an almost conflict-free time. The exception is girls youth soccer, but we also became aware that after many years of soccer, girls are often looking to do something different. We are a city troop, so we also wanted girls to be able to travel at a safe time to participate, including by bus or metro. Saturday morning is great for that. Finally, we meet longer than most troops, because we only meet twice a month (the first and third Saturdays, the fourth weekend being for our monthly outdoor activity). There are some exceptions to that pattern, but they are driven by school schedules.
Our parent formation group surveyed parents of girls on a number of things, including meeting times. We chose Saturday mornings from 10 to Noon. Reasons included that with one exception, this was an almost conflict-free time. The exception is girls youth soccer, but we also became aware that after many years of soccer, girls are often looking to do something different. We are a city troop, so we also wanted girls to be able to travel at a safe time to participate, including by bus or metro. Saturday morning is great for that. Finally, we meet longer than most troops, because we only meet twice a month (the first and third Saturdays, the fourth weekend being for our monthly outdoor activity). There are some exceptions to that pattern, but they are driven by school schedules.
If you take a look at our event schedule for the next 12 months you will see that we will offer a camp experience every month during the school year except for December. I’m sorry if my comments have led you otherwise. BSA national guidelines recommend a youth participate in no fewer than 4 weekend camp outs plus a week of residential summer camp. I think most of our girls will do much more than 4 weekend camp outs. Because we are starting off-cycle this year (in February instead of September), our first camp out this year will be early march (Snyder) to be followed by the spring camporee and a May campout. We will do second period at Goshen (Olmsted) and then hit a fully-loaded year of camping for 2019-2020. This will be a robust camping and hiking program. We surveyed girl parents when designing the schedule and were told that the families definitely wanted robust and frequent outdoor programming,and that is what we will offer.
Camping Frequency.
Our Troop will offer a camping trip seven times a year (three 2-night trips in the fall and four in the spring. BSA recommends that Scouts BSA members participate in at least four of those. In addition, we will offer a week of residential camp at Goshen Scout Reservation and an optional special trip later in each summer (this year we visit the International Jamboree for 4 days). In addition, we will offer day hikes at least four times each year. So, we have a fully-loaded outdoor program for our girls.
Our Troop will offer a camping trip seven times a year (three 2-night trips in the fall and four in the spring. BSA recommends that Scouts BSA members participate in at least four of those. In addition, we will offer a week of residential camp at Goshen Scout Reservation and an optional special trip later in each summer (this year we visit the International Jamboree for 4 days). In addition, we will offer day hikes at least four times each year. So, we have a fully-loaded outdoor program for our girls.
Expensive?
A lot of other youth groups do engage in product sales fund raising. We have taken the decision that rather than put the energy of our families and girls into the fundraising, we would put it into program. We did a pretty thorough survey of girl parents and found that they really did not want fund raising obligations that are so prevalent in other girl youth service organizations. A related issue is that product fund raising is often quite difficult and sometimes dangerous for children from under-resourced families of our City. We view ourselves as wanting to draw from the entire city in terms of geography and economic circumstance, so that was on our mind as well. For those children we have built a capability to subsidize their participation. Remember, that fee structure effectively includes at least two weeks of room and board during our campouts. Compare that to what people pay for children to attend away games of sporting groups and school ski clubs. Our program is very cost-effective in comparison. We are going to have a first-rate, front-ranking program and there will be no nickel-and-diming of parents in our Troop. Of course after a year or so of operations we will re-examine our fee structure. It will be lowered if we end up with excess retained funds.
A lot of other youth groups do engage in product sales fund raising. We have taken the decision that rather than put the energy of our families and girls into the fundraising, we would put it into program. We did a pretty thorough survey of girl parents and found that they really did not want fund raising obligations that are so prevalent in other girl youth service organizations. A related issue is that product fund raising is often quite difficult and sometimes dangerous for children from under-resourced families of our City. We view ourselves as wanting to draw from the entire city in terms of geography and economic circumstance, so that was on our mind as well. For those children we have built a capability to subsidize their participation. Remember, that fee structure effectively includes at least two weeks of room and board during our campouts. Compare that to what people pay for children to attend away games of sporting groups and school ski clubs. Our program is very cost-effective in comparison. We are going to have a first-rate, front-ranking program and there will be no nickel-and-diming of parents in our Troop. Of course after a year or so of operations we will re-examine our fee structure. It will be lowered if we end up with excess retained funds.
Daughter is busy this spring - What about the fall?
We will certainly welcome her this fall if that is when wants to begin. Our fall open house "welcome party" will be on September 14. Here is a good hint though. Give strong consideration to having your girl join us at the very end of this semester so she can go with us to the week of residential camp on June 30 to July 6. That way she can bond with our girls and start the fall as a known part of the group. By the way, summer camp that week costs a hard-to-believe low of $400. Food, program and all. I don't know how the BSA does it but they really offer the least expensive camp week around.
We will certainly welcome her this fall if that is when wants to begin. Our fall open house "welcome party" will be on September 14. Here is a good hint though. Give strong consideration to having your girl join us at the very end of this semester so she can go with us to the week of residential camp on June 30 to July 6. That way she can bond with our girls and start the fall as a known part of the group. By the way, summer camp that week costs a hard-to-believe low of $400. Food, program and all. I don't know how the BSA does it but they really offer the least expensive camp week around.
Patrols -- also clipped from our web site:
"Every girl also belongs to a smaller 5 – 8 member group within the Troop called a Patrol. At the beginning of each semester each Patrol elects a girl to serve as Patrol Leader and another girl as Assistant Patrol Leader. These girls run the Patrol meetings. Each Patrol selects a name and the members wear a patrol patch and have a Patrol flag and a cheer. Members of Patrols usually become good friends because they work together with each other on projects and earning advancement ranks and merit badges. When the Troop meets on Saturday mornings we break-up into Patrol meetings for part of the time to learn and plan things. When we go on hikes, camping or other activities we often break-up into our Patrols to do things. For example, all girls in a Patrol put their tents near each other when we go camping. Patrols often compete against each other to sharpen and demonstrate their Scouting skills."
You can see this page at: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/about/troop-organization/.
To fill in a bit, your daughter would be in a patrol, which is a subgroup within the Troop. The patrols meet at the same time and in the same place as the Troop. Girls are formally assigned by the Scoutmaster Staff into a patrol. Scouts BSA works best when a girl is in a patrol that has some friends, but also some new girls who are outside her current group of friends. This teaches girls how to negotiate the making of new friends and the accommodating of different personalities. We would certainly let your daughter and her friend be in the same patrol. Having Patrols also lets girls have a chance to exercise leadership, because we elect new patrol leaders each semester.
"Every girl also belongs to a smaller 5 – 8 member group within the Troop called a Patrol. At the beginning of each semester each Patrol elects a girl to serve as Patrol Leader and another girl as Assistant Patrol Leader. These girls run the Patrol meetings. Each Patrol selects a name and the members wear a patrol patch and have a Patrol flag and a cheer. Members of Patrols usually become good friends because they work together with each other on projects and earning advancement ranks and merit badges. When the Troop meets on Saturday mornings we break-up into Patrol meetings for part of the time to learn and plan things. When we go on hikes, camping or other activities we often break-up into our Patrols to do things. For example, all girls in a Patrol put their tents near each other when we go camping. Patrols often compete against each other to sharpen and demonstrate their Scouting skills."
You can see this page at: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/about/troop-organization/.
To fill in a bit, your daughter would be in a patrol, which is a subgroup within the Troop. The patrols meet at the same time and in the same place as the Troop. Girls are formally assigned by the Scoutmaster Staff into a patrol. Scouts BSA works best when a girl is in a patrol that has some friends, but also some new girls who are outside her current group of friends. This teaches girls how to negotiate the making of new friends and the accommodating of different personalities. We would certainly let your daughter and her friend be in the same patrol. Having Patrols also lets girls have a chance to exercise leadership, because we elect new patrol leaders each semester.
Adult Participation -- This is clipped from our web site:
"The parents or guardian of each girl are required to be either a member of our Troop Committee (for those who want to be episodically active with us) or the Support Committee (for those who want to help 3 times per year with tasks like transportation and chaperoning). You must assure regular participation of your girl at our Saturday morning meetings or she will fall behind in acquiring her Scouting skills. The BSA conducts a background check for registered Troop Committee Members and out Scoutmaster Staff."
Fees -- This is also clipped from our web site.
"Per-semester $200 membership dues cover Scout Handbook and all meeting and program costs. (paid at beginning of each semester) 50% dues discount for each additional girl in the same family. Participation in monthly campouts costs $50 each (includes food) and we estimate girls will participate in 4 each (totaling $200/year). A week of summer camp is about $400. We collect online using VISA. We have a fund to help families who cannot pay our full fees."
Our site has a one-page posting with all the basics a parent needs to know at: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/adults/information-for-parents/.
As a bit of additional information on the fees, our Troop Committee decided that rather than have parents and children engage in product sales and similar fund-raising, we would just ask for dues that cover the fully-loaded cost of participation. So these fees cover everything. Patches, program materials, campouts, food, camp fees, everything. If you total up the grand amount for a girls who would fully-participate with us for a year it would be just under $1,000. Less than the cost of a single weekend to an away activity for a travel sports team or school group. This is "dirt cheap" in comparison. To child will be turned away whose family cannot pay these full fees. We have a fund to help.
"The parents or guardian of each girl are required to be either a member of our Troop Committee (for those who want to be episodically active with us) or the Support Committee (for those who want to help 3 times per year with tasks like transportation and chaperoning). You must assure regular participation of your girl at our Saturday morning meetings or she will fall behind in acquiring her Scouting skills. The BSA conducts a background check for registered Troop Committee Members and out Scoutmaster Staff."
Fees -- This is also clipped from our web site.
"Per-semester $200 membership dues cover Scout Handbook and all meeting and program costs. (paid at beginning of each semester) 50% dues discount for each additional girl in the same family. Participation in monthly campouts costs $50 each (includes food) and we estimate girls will participate in 4 each (totaling $200/year). A week of summer camp is about $400. We collect online using VISA. We have a fund to help families who cannot pay our full fees."
Our site has a one-page posting with all the basics a parent needs to know at: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/adults/information-for-parents/.
As a bit of additional information on the fees, our Troop Committee decided that rather than have parents and children engage in product sales and similar fund-raising, we would just ask for dues that cover the fully-loaded cost of participation. So these fees cover everything. Patches, program materials, campouts, food, camp fees, everything. If you total up the grand amount for a girls who would fully-participate with us for a year it would be just under $1,000. Less than the cost of a single weekend to an away activity for a travel sports team or school group. This is "dirt cheap" in comparison. To child will be turned away whose family cannot pay these full fees. We have a fund to help.
Scouts BSA will have the same program requirements for boys and girls. Naturally the implementation of that program is through the elected youth leaders who work largely with the Scoutmasters.
More good questions. Over the course of the year we will offer no fewer than six weekend camping opportunities (2 nights at a camp within 2 hours drive of the District), a full week of summer residential camp at nearby Goshen Scout Reservation, and an annual optional summer trip. This year the optional trip will be to visit the International Scout Jamboree in West Virginia.
So far we now have 18 adult volunteer leaders. Seven are on our Scoutmaster Staff (I hope to add 2 more), and the rest are on our Troop Committee. We welcome additional leaders as well, each of which must take Youth Protection Training required by the Episcopal Church and BSA. You do not need experience in youth programming to join us.
The BSA national organization regularly adds and subtracts merit badges based on the interests of youth members. I anticipate the national organization will be adding merit badges that address girl-specific interests and hobbies to the extent these are not already reflected in the huge number of merit badges already available. The principal "required" merit badges will remain the same (line camping, cooking, swimming, citizenship, etc.).
So far we now have 18 adult volunteer leaders. Seven are on our Scoutmaster Staff (I hope to add 2 more), and the rest are on our Troop Committee. We welcome additional leaders as well, each of which must take Youth Protection Training required by the Episcopal Church and BSA. You do not need experience in youth programming to join us.
The BSA national organization regularly adds and subtracts merit badges based on the interests of youth members. I anticipate the national organization will be adding merit badges that address girl-specific interests and hobbies to the extent these are not already reflected in the huge number of merit badges already available. The principal "required" merit badges will remain the same (line camping, cooking, swimming, citizenship, etc.).
Great Questions. Regarding the ages of girls who join Scouts BSA this spring, I anticipate our formation group will skew younger (11-13). However, there are provisions for girls older than that to participate and even make Eagle (if that is an interest for them). We have 14 girls so far, but we don't release further information our of privacy concerns. The girls will elect their leaders and will participate in filling-out what will happen during future activities. Of course we will be flexible and adjust to their interests.
Dear YIS: Thanks for the good wishes. We have 14 girls already signed-up and we have not had our first of two open house events, so we think we are on the right track. Our group is dedicated to improving the prospects of these girls.
I'm the volunteer Scoutmaster of new Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls that opens this and next month to serve girls age 11-17 across the District at All Souls Episcopal Church. I followed postings a few months ago comparing the merits of various youth programs, and think those issues were thoroughly discussed. So, I am going to respond to any questions about what we will be doing with the girls in Scouts BSA. I don't know much about other girl youth programs, so if you want to talk about other youth programs or the merits of girls being in Scouts BSA, I invite you to start a separate posting.
You probably know that this is the program formerly called "Boy Scouts" implemented in an all-girl environment. Extensive information about how we will operate within the District is found at www.ScoutsBsaDcGirls.org. Our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls will be all-girl and not co-ed. Girls will elect their own leaders and lead the organization with adult advice. Our group will probably start with between 20 and 30 girls and grow to between 60 and 80 by year end. The Troop will be subdivided into smaller groups called "patrols". We have 18 adult women and men volunteer leaders already, seven of whom serve on our intensively-involved "Scoutmasters Staff", which I lead. The purpose of the organization is to teach ethical decision making skills through use of leadership, citizenship and personal fitness activities. The outdoors is one of our principal classrooms, and we will have an outdoor trip or hike each month. The entire Troop will attend a week of residential summer camp. Our girls interact with outstanding women leaders each month, as we invite them in to share their stories and respond to questions. We meet twice a month on Saturday mornings at a safe location close to a metro stop. We do not sell cookies, popcorn or any other products and rely on member dues and third-party contributions to help pay dues of children from under-resourced families.
Please post your questions and I will answer them in groups a few times a day. I won't discuss our "open house" welcome parties set for this month, as that information is already posted in the appropriate place on this blog. I have taken the unusual step of posting a duplicate message on the education forum to alert teachers to this (we have 2 teachers on our Scoutmaster Staff).
You probably know that this is the program formerly called "Boy Scouts" implemented in an all-girl environment. Extensive information about how we will operate within the District is found at www.ScoutsBsaDcGirls.org. Our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls will be all-girl and not co-ed. Girls will elect their own leaders and lead the organization with adult advice. Our group will probably start with between 20 and 30 girls and grow to between 60 and 80 by year end. The Troop will be subdivided into smaller groups called "patrols". We have 18 adult women and men volunteer leaders already, seven of whom serve on our intensively-involved "Scoutmasters Staff", which I lead. The purpose of the organization is to teach ethical decision making skills through use of leadership, citizenship and personal fitness activities. The outdoors is one of our principal classrooms, and we will have an outdoor trip or hike each month. The entire Troop will attend a week of residential summer camp. Our girls interact with outstanding women leaders each month, as we invite them in to share their stories and respond to questions. We meet twice a month on Saturday mornings at a safe location close to a metro stop. We do not sell cookies, popcorn or any other products and rely on member dues and third-party contributions to help pay dues of children from under-resourced families.
Please post your questions and I will answer them in groups a few times a day. I won't discuss our "open house" welcome parties set for this month, as that information is already posted in the appropriate place on this blog. I have taken the unusual step of posting a duplicate message on the education forum to alert teachers to this (we have 2 teachers on our Scoutmaster Staff).