My child participated in this program during the 2012 Summer Season. The camp staff was well-trained, responsive, and very excited about the program. Each morning, my daughter was pushing me to get her out the door to get to camp and each car-ride home was filled with her discoveries about hermit crabs, saltmarshes, and sailboats. She is excited to move on to the next camp this summer - we are excited to have an academic camp to send her to where she is truly among friends. As a Marine Scientist by trade, it was amazing to see Marine Biology undergraduates teach so much to my child - even though she has spent her life on the water!
My child participated in the summer camp 2012. There were counselors that seemed to be better trained than others but those who were not left harmful marks. In my opinion and from what I observed, children at this camp should never be left to be supervised with those that do not have appropriate criteria for understanding child development. A director should also be responsible in protecting the growth and health of a child first. Approaches seemed to have shown proof of control behavior before expertise of children, ganging up on thoughts about children from those not well qualified, and leaving children without the proper guidance for healthy development. The director in charge of the sailing portion does not seem to bring to Schooner an education involving child development and his lack of skill has proven to be painful to those very young. This should be taken seriously. it is my understanding that children were eating in high alert humidity and hot deck floors because there was not enough room to eat anywhere else. I was told that children were told to let a counselor know if they felt hot. Again, staff needs to be trained about what is needed to allow children to be safe.
Review from Guidestar
director13 11/26/2012
As the Executive Director, I have sent you an email to get some more details about your concerns so we can make sure that they have been addressed. I assure you that all of our staff are well trained and our Executive Staff have decades of experience in our area of expertise as well as in youth programming. That said, Schooner's hands-on, feet-wet programs often put us outside of 'normal' conditions, but please be assured that we use our 35 years of experience to be sensitive to and aware of our campers' needs.