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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My girls are in Cub Scouts/Scouts because we couldn’t get a call back from Girl Scouts, despite multiple calls and emails to several different branches. One branch did call us, but it was well after we had already signed up for Cub Scouts. I chalk that more up to busy/high demand, maybe I wasn’t calling at the right time of year.

That said, thinking about the little girls I know how are in Girl Scouts—or ANY elementary kid—I would never in a million years label any child as a “Mean Girl.” If you want to have a go at the parents, have a go at the parents. But take a look at your thread title. My goodness. [/quote]

I am a Girl Scout leader and on my local Service Unit team (the collection of troops in the area) and I genuinely have no idea how Scouts BSA does it!  They seem to have an endless supply of spots for new kids, meanwhile we ***always*** have more girls that want to join than available troops and struggle so much getting new leaders to volunteer.  Does Scouts BSA just not have the same adult/child ratio requirements?  Are parents more willing to volunteer for their sons than their daughters?  Do paid staff step up and run troops if they don't have volunteers?  I would love to know how they do it.[/quote]

I don’t know, but here’s what I know: even if you don’t have a spot, you do have a duty to promptly call back the inquiring parent and tell them you don’t have a spot. Or at the very least have some automated email or text script you can send. Not replying is unacceptable. If you can’t promptly respond to inquiries, you have no business being a troop leader. [/quote]

As a former troop leader, I don't know if or how I would get that email or phone call directly. There should be someone at the council who could help connect you to a membership manager who should work with you to help find a placement.

But it is true that a lot of troops are full. Ours was hosted at the school so we weren't allowed to bring in kids from outside the school community as a condition of being able to use classroom space.

It might make sense to reach out in the spring because it's hard to reach GS staff in the summer because so many are all about camp. On the flip side, spring is when they do the big membership drive, so it's possible a leader wouldn't know how many spots they have open until current girls renew. [/quote]

My kid (age 11) was rejected on inquiry last year so we gave up.  I don't understand how a Girl Scout troop can be full based on the leader ratios posted online.  Are troops allowed to decide on their own that they are closed?  A [b]whole new mean girl group that happens to be paid for by cookies[/b].[/quote]

I believe that for older girls the troop size can go up to 12 without needing special approval to enlarge. After that point it was council discretion.

I'm sorry your daughter didn't find a space, but it's unkind and unfair to paint a whole bunch of girls as "mean girls" because of it. I sincerely doubt the troop members took a vote on your daughter. They probably had no idea if someone was trying to join.

There are a number of reasons it could be tough to join an established group. Like one of my daughter's troop's focus is travel, so by 7th grade they were already halfway through raising money for a big trip. Most of their activities were long term. Someone joining partway would need to be heavily parent subsidized, which could feel awkward to ask, since the current members already each earned about $1,000. It wouldn't be impossible to figure out, but for busy leaders working full time, it's a big thing to add a logistical equity puzzle. And to be honest, most of their activities when they weren't traveling were about raising money, so it might not be that interesting to join for someone not invested in that end goal.

My other daughter's troop is more badge activity focused, so it would be easier logistically to jump in midway and not need to be caught up. But still it can be tough to add someone. I volunteered at their last camping weekend and since everyone came we had exactly enough space to fit in the cars of the volunteer drivers and exactly the right amount of space in tents. I don't know if those leaders ever got new member requests, but I could see how it could complicate a system that they have worked for several years. [/quote]

What is the ratio?

Our troop must be off. We have 15-16 girls and 2 leaders. I do think our troop is too big and it would be better if it were smaller. Our leaders accept anyone who wants to join.[/quote]

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