YDSI & ACA Outcomes Survey:

As you might already know, over the past two years Camp Gray has participated in a study sponsored by the American Camp Association (ACA) and research firm named Youth Development Strategies, Inc. (YDSI). Camp Gray was one of just 20 camps in the nation to participate in this study which was designed to improve the youth development outcomes that occur at camp. We focused on improving outcomes by improving our programs. The good news is that the process worked! Camp Gray saw statistically significant improvement in every category. We are excited to share the results with you.

This page contains a summary of what positive youth development means, a description of the improvement process we went through, and a comparison of the 2004 and 2005 survey results.

Youth Development at Camp Gray:

Kids need a number of opportunities and supports in order to thrive and become healthy, productive young adults. This is what youth development is all about. Camp Gray is committed to providing such an environment. These opportunities and supports include:

• Multiple supportive relationships with adults and peers

• A feeling of physical and emotional safety

• Meaningful involvement

• and Challenging and engaging activities

The Process:

In the summer of 2004, a session of adolescent campers took a survey that measured these positive youth development outcomes. It asked questions like "How many adult staff pay attention to what's going on in your life," "How safe do I feel at Camp," and "How often do I have the chance to learn how to do new things here?"

As mentioned earlier, Camp Gray was one of twenty camps in the nation to participate in the final phase of the study which focuses on how we can change our programs at camp in order to create a more positive experience for our campers. We met as a staff, surveyed campers, and received input from summer staff members on ways that Camp Gray could improve.

After synthesizing all these ideas, we made a number of changes to the 2005 summer camp program in order to improve the supports and opportunities. Some of the changes at Camp Gray in 2005 included:

• Two new evening programs (Survivor: Camp Gray, and Wednesday Evening Cabin Time)
• More intentional processing at devotions (like the Wheel)
• A Pathfinder beach party (complete with rope swing) on Wednesdays
• "Getting to Know You" cards at Sunday check-in
• Improved program areas (including new ones like Cooking and Going Ballistic)
• And much more!

In the summer of 2005, we re-surveyed another session of adolescent campers to see what effect these changes had. This session of campers was very similar in number and age distribution to the first group surveyed. We received the results from the surveys in late-October of 2005 and, without further ado, would like to share them with you. . .

The Results: (Drum Roll Please)

Summer 2005 results are shown in the left-hand column (for comparison the 2004 results are on the right)

Where do we go from here?

As you can see from the charts, Camp Gray made statistically significant improvement in each category. (Either by moving campers into the Excellent rating or out of the Needs Improvement rating.) In fact, among the 20 camps in the study, Camp Gray ranked at or near the top in all categories, both in positive change and in absolute terms.

This data supports all the anecdotal evidence we have gathered over the years; namely that Camp Gray provides a meaningful, powerful experience that positively affects our campers' lives. It was nice to see this quality affirmed in the survey results. It allows us to state with confidence that Camp Gray is one of the best camps in the country.

We at Camp Gray though are committed to making your camp experience even better. (No resting on our laurels here!) We will continue to examine our programs, policies, and structure to make your experience at camp filled even more with growth, faith, friends, and fun. (We already have some ideas in mind.) This means that next summer will be the best summer yet! Don't miss out. We can't wait to see you here. . .