Scouts BSA DC Troop 248 for Girls - Scoutmaster Answers Your Questions
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Anonymous
| What will happen if/when the Boy Scouts go bankrupt? |
cburkhardt
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Camping Logistics for Girls
We are only going to camp at places where there are adequate and separate showering and bathroom facilities dedicated to women (as well as men). The BSA long ago built-out facilities at their own camps for women when their high school-aged programs admitted women. In those instances where only a single facility is available at a camp, the BSA and Episcopal Church require us to dedicate times for single sex use as well as related signage. Girl Scouts I am not very familiar with Girl Scouts and can't really comment on their operation. Those issues were very thoroughly discussed in earlier postings this past fall, so I am encouraging people who want to discuss those issues to start their own posting if they want to go in that direction. Personally, I am happy their program serves so many girls. I also think it is great that we are adding an additional option for families in DC. |
cburkhardt
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Financial Reorganization
I am a leader of a local Scouts BSA Troop and not a national leader in the BSA, so these comments are my own. It is well written-about in the media that organizations like schools, athletic clubs, churches and the BSA have experienced levels of inappropriate and even criminal behavior on the part of some adults who engaged in inappropriate behavior with children. As I understand it these organizations have a financial reorganization option under federal law to assemble insurance proceeds and some of their own assets to pay financial damages to victims. When this happens, victims make their claims, payments are made, and the organiztion can move forward from that time without having to defend aginst claims on an ongoing basis. This allows significant payments to victims. It also allows the organizations to retain the facilities and finances necessary for them to continue their educational, religious, athletic or youth serving services. If the BSA national organization goes through that process, our local programming and facilities will remain unaffected. Of key importance to those of us volunteering to provide services to youth and the parents who are considering having their children participate, are the rules and practices we follow today. These are appropriately rigorous and absolutely mandatory. The "Safe Church" requirements of the Episcopal Church and the "Youth Protection" regulations of the BSA are elaborate and strict. In Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls we have women and men adult leaders who must pass a required Youth Protection Training program efore they can serve. Out parents and guardians will be given a thorough orientation to these requirements during our first Troop meeting on February 2. A link to these requirements hs here: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/adults/policies/. This is what we tell the girsl: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/about/the-buddy-system/. Here is an excerpt from my letter to parents posted on our web site. Whether you have your child join our group or any other, you should alway inquire how the specific group operates to protect our children: "Our Troop follows the BSA’s Youth Protection policies and the Safe Church policies of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to protect your girl and others involved in Scouting. Our Troop Committee and the Scoutmaster Staff follow mandatory practices, which I summarize below: Two Leaders on Outings. A minimum of two registered and Youth Protection trained BSA leaders or the combination of one registered BSA leader and the parent of a participating Scout must be present. Both persons must be at least 21 years old and at least one of these people must be a female. Two Leaders on Cyber Communication. There are no one-on-one online or digital activity or electronic communications. Two Troop Leaders and a parent or guardian are always included in any electronic communication with a youth member, ensuring no one-on-one contact exists in text, social media, or other forms of online or digital communication. The “Scoutbook” web and app system (discussed below) generates these copies and is our exclusive means of cyber communication with youth members and families. No One-On-One Contact is allowed between Youth and Adults. When a situation requires a personal conference, the meeting is conducted with knowledge and in the view of other adults and youth. Separate Accommodations for Youth and Adults. No youth is allowed to sleep in a tent with an adult other than her own parent or guardian. Separate shower and bathroom facilities are used for adults, youth and girls. The only exception is when separate facilities are not available and scheduled and posted times are used to separate adults from youth and males from females. Buddy System. Self-selected groups of 2 or 3 girls assure girls are never alone on Scouting activities. Privacy is Maintained. Girls and adults respect privacy in situations like changing clothes or taking showers. Adults are not allowed into such areas unless a health or safety issue requires it. In such cases two adults are required. No Inappropriate Digital Use. No use of digital devices is allowed in circumstances where privacy is expected or requested. No Secret Organizations. These are prohibited in the BSA and in our Troop. No Hazing or Bullying is permitted. Girl leaders are carefully advised. We monitor and advise our girl leaders to assure safety and compliance with BSA policies. Discipline. This is always positive and constructive. No corporal or negative activities are allowed. Appropriate Clothing Required. Bathing suits are required and no revealing clothing is allowed. Mandatory Reporting. All Troop Leaders are required by law, BSA and Episcopal Church policy to report youth protection-related incidents. Any good-faith suspicion or belief that a child has been abused or exposed to any form of exploitation or obscenity is required by law to be reported to local law enforcement. We will also notify our local professional BSA Scout Executive and the Chief Executive (Rector) of the Church. Parent Reporting. Any parent who has reason to believe that BSA youth protection policies are not being followed should notify our local professional BSA Scout Executive by calling (248) 530-9360 and the Rector of the Church by calling (202) 232-4244. Instances of actual abuse should be reported directly to law enforcement, as well as the BSA Scout Executive and Church Rector." That is my summary of many of the principal points of the Youth Protection Program and how we implement it. You can read my entire letter (a bit long, but provides all of our operating details) here: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/adults/scoutmasters-letter-to-prospective-parents/. |
cburkhardt
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Thank You from our Troop Committee and Scoutmaster Staff
It has been a pleasure to answer your questions on this posting. I appreciate the seriousness of your inquiries and hope my direct responses have informed you about how Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls will operate in our City. We have the first of our 2 open house "Welcome Parties" on Jan 12 (see the event posting elsewhere on this blog), and I will let you know on how the first one goes. On behalf of our 18 adult volunteers and 14 girl members we have so far, thanks for your interest. If you need to contact me or other adult volunteers with individual questions, please send an email to: ScoutsBsaDcGirls+Scoutmaster@gmail.com. And, you can always make an inquiry for your girl as a potential member or yourself as a potential volunteer leader at: http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/. |
Anonymous
| We had a huge turnout at our open house this morning. My estimate is that as of this moment, we will have no fewer than 25 Girl members of our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls, and we have yet another open house Feb. 19th that we will be advertising. Our volunteer committee has grown to 21. Thanks for the many of you who attended and decided to have your girls join us. I will make a simple posting next week to update joining procedures. If you plan to attend, I suggest you arrive just a bit early to avoid the crowd. |
Anonymous
| You seem very adept at advertising! I hope you are also successful with your troop. |
Anonymous
| The purpose of this blog is to share great ideas with others. I commend Jeff and others who make this all possible. Thanks for the compliment on our PR work. It is always great to pot word out about worthy opportunities. As for running an effective youth program, it will be an effort conducted by a large volunteer committee led by a Chair and a full compliment of women and men serving as officers. Whatever success occurs will inure to you that organization and not our small group that got things started.started. You should stop by and visit us. |
Anonymous
But not to advertise... |
Anonymous
| OP, how many female scoutmasters and ASM do you have who are willing to go on camping trips? Do you have any willing to go backpacking or do other high adventure activities? Do you have plenty who will go to summer camp? Or is it mostly one or two women and a bunch of men? |
Anonymous
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I read all of the questions, comments and answers and am very impressed with the amount of work you and your team are putting into this all-girl troop. Thank you. My daughter and I will be at your welcome event on Saturday.
May I offer another point of view in response to a previous post regarding the Girl Scouts? I don’t see this troop as responding to or competing with the Girl Scouts at all, and I don’t think that’s the posture/tone we as parents should model for our girls. My DD has been a long time Girl Scout and will continue to be as long as her schedule/interest allow. She is also very interested in joining BSA. Again, as long as her schedule/interest allow, I will let her make that decision. Our family will support both organizations because they both work in the best interest of our children. And that’s all what we want as parents, right? Thanks again to the troop leadership for your work in getting this troop started. We will see you on Saturday. |
cburkhardt
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Gender Composition of Adult Leadership
We currently have 18 adult leaders and 10 are female, 8 are male. This last weekend we had 3 additional women apply to join us, so if they follow-through it will adjust further. Scouts BSA requires that at least one male and one female adult leader would be present on any activity, and that includes camping, backpacking, zip-lining sailboating and any other kind of activity inside or outside. We have female leaders (including our female Assistant Scoutmasters) who have extensive outdoor experience, including backpacking, extreme hiking/mountain climbing, etc. One of our female committee members if an Olympian who has a highest-level capability in these areas. Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls believes that girls need to have female as well as male role models to look up to and we will provide it. Here is information on volunteering for Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls: https://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/adults/information-for-volunteers/. Willingness to go outdoors Scouts BSA does not exist to teach children how to camp, hike, or other outdoor activities. It exists to teach ethical decision-making and leadership, inspire confidence and upgrade personal fitness in children -- all in a manner that assists families as they form the character of their child. The outdoors is one of our principal classrooms to achieve this. If a girl is confident in how to exist comfortably in the outdoors and has a mastery over scoutcraft skills, she will be more confident in school and significantly upgrade her social interactions and life prospects. Any girl who joins us is going to be exposed to these things -- and very soon (our first overnight outing starts March 8). Adult volunteer leaders of out Troop do not have to be experienced in the outdoors, but we have found that most will participate and learn how to be confident in the outdoors themselves. During out welcome event this last weekend a parent in the presence of her daughter asked me "does she have to go outside to be part of this Troop?" I replied that she would be welcome under any circumstance, but that she would miss-out on too much if she were to restrict herself to our indoor activities. Turns out the daughter was actually quite interested in testing herself in the outdoors after all. If a girl (with coaching) can lead her peers through the woods using a map and a compass, she is going to have the confidence to do a lot -- and that daughter decided she did not want to miss out on that. Here is the link to our website that discusses our outdoor program: https://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/about/camping-and-hiking-in-the-outdoors/. And, we have one more Welcome party before we start-up in February. Please see the event posting for that information. |
Anonymous
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We have 2 kids who are Eagle Scouts. Their troop has always been run by both the moms and the dads, and their troop is fair from unique. It is common for women to be involved as Scout leaders, merit badge counselors, camping supervisors and filling other adult roles. The current troop leader is a mom.
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Anonymous
Mom of 2 Eagle Scouts here. I couldn't agree with you more pp. We were lucky to end up in a troop that was boy led. It has been a constant struggle to stop parents from taking over. Having a kid led troop will be the most important characteristic to look for in a troop. The boys ran everything with adults watching. Yes, that meant they never left for a camping trip on time and there were times they were short on food etc. Nothing ever happened to endanger the kids. The adults did step in the few times there were discipline issues and safety issues. It was wonderful to see the young kids grow and become great leaders. Letting the kids run things and make mistakes is the most valuable thing you can do and I don't see any other activity that allows kids to do this. They learned so many skills. I was so envious when I saw what they got to do and the contrast to what my girl scout experience was. We did crafts and stayed indoors at all times. |
Anonymous
Wow. My two now Eagle Scouts had a blast their first summer camp. They had classes for merit badges but also had a lot of down time to fish, swim, hang out. |
cburkhardt
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First Year of Summer Camp
My experience is that the first year of Summer Camp should be a fun, action-oriented experience for new Scouts BSA members that introduces them to the essentials of scoutcraft. That is certainly the way we will make in in our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls. The Summer camp we will attend all-together (Camp Olmstead on the Goshen Scout Reservation) has a special program to assure just that, where first year campers experience the program elements that are especially appropriate. Any written requirements for badges are done in advance of summer camp, so there is a minimum of "classroom" type activity. 95% is dedicated to hands-on action. Our advancement co-chair gave me the schedule of activities for these first year girl-members: https://www.gotogoshen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2019-Camp-Olmsted-Trailshead-Schedule.pdf. |