What happens at camp?
Students attending our camp are placed into mock "councils", each led by an adult staff member (a teacher/adviser) and a junior staff member (a highly-trained college student). Throughout the week, the mock councils complete projects, work on overcoming obstacles, bond, network and grow together as a group. Students are placed in various other learning groups throughout the week for small leadership lessons, but will primarily spend most of their time with their council.
Do advisers/adults have to attend?
School advisers and parents do not need to attend with their students. We do use Michigan teachers, most of them leadership advisers, to staff our camp and are always looking for more. If interested, please complete an Senior Counselor Interest Form or contact Todd Burlingham, 517.327.5315.
What sort of supervision is provided?
Our summer programs, both middle level and high school, boast a student to staff ratio of about 8:1 (8 students to 1 adult). Students are engaged in group settings from 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM, always facilitated or supervised by our staff. In the dorms both during free time (about an hour each afternoon) and at night, staff is assigned and resides on each floor with students. Albion College also has security onsite. Students are provided with various ways to contact emergency help if necessary.
What if there are medical issues?
We do our best each to have on staff at least one certified EMT/Paramedic or nurse each summer. These individuals are with us 24/7 and their only responsibility is our camp. They are visible at all general activities and have a specified location during quiet times so students can access them as needed. Jackson has various urgent care centers and a reputable hospital that we use when necessary. Students are transported by ambulance in case of emergency; for non-emergencies, the medical staff or one of our adult staff members (with your approval) will transport and stay with the student. Parents/Guardians are contacted immediately if their child has repeated issues or medical concerns. We do not keep sick/ill students at camp. We are not equipped to do so and must look out for the general health and wellness of the rest of the staff and students. If a medical issue does arise that requires a student to leave, we are unable to refund registration fees.
How are students housed and fed?
We reside right in Albion's dorms. Males are placed in one building, females in another. Male staff is assigned to every floor with male students. Female staff is assigned to every floor with female students. Some housing has community bathrooms; other housing is setup with a shared bathroom between two rooms. Each dorm room will have two students from the same school (unless an uneven amount of students attends from a specific school). Only at the Middle Level are roommate requests granted; absolutely NO room requests are taken for the High School Camp due to the large numbers. Regardless, we always do our best to assign students to a roommate from their school, or at least in an adjoining or nearby room. Students are RARELY in their rooms (just to sleep!) anyhow.
Albion has a wide selection of food items at each meal. Both hot and cold options as well as healthy choices are available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Students with severe dietary restrictions should arrange with MASC/MAHS to bring their own food and keep it refrigerated if needed. While there are healthy options, we do not police what the students choose to eat at each meal. Our staff members do their best to make sure each student eats enough and drinks plenty of fluids; these students are leaders and we expect they will make responsible choices at mealtime.
What is the affiliation with Albion College?
We have operated our Leadership Camps out of Albion College since about 2002. We have no affiliation with them. Some parents have inquired about this due to the fact that Albion College is a faith-based college. Our organizations, MASC/MAHS and MASSP, are not faith-based. We contract space out at Albion College to use for our camp programs.
MORE QUESTIONS? SEND AN EMAIL TO:
kadi@mymassp.com
