Parent Survey Results Are In! Here’s What They Had To Say

A few weeks ago we published results from a staff survey. This week we’ll hear what our camper families had to say about their summer experience.

On Their Daughter’s Highlight:

• Tripping, dinners on the tennis court, and the witch.
• Opportunity to try new things and create relationships with the staff.
• Learning to waterski and ride horses.
• Getting to know the international staff and hearing about different places and experiences.

On the Parent’s Highlight of Their Daughter’s Summer:

• Gaining independence, making new friends.
• Seeing their growth upon returning from the experience.
• How she loves to write and receive “real” letters from her CC4G friends.
• My daughter feels like she is herself at Clearwater.

On Advice to First Time Parents:

• Let parents know that those first letters home often indicate some homesickness. This is natural and counselors consistently work with the children to ensure a smooth transition.
• Make sure she’s slept over at a friend’s house before coming to camp.
• It was helpful to go to the informational gatherings and hear from other kids that had been there before.
• Don’t dismiss worries about homesickness. Acknowledge it and say, “Yes you probably will be a little homesick, but don’t let it get in the way of all the fun you will have.”

Additionally, we asked about our social media philosophy. Mainly we wanted to know if parents knew about it, and if they could share ideas on how we can incorporate their needs with the philosophy.  

• Our Philosophy: We believe it is the camper’s choice of how much or how little she shares of her experiences when she returns to her life at home. One of the best and most important contributors to a successful summer at camp is the opportunity for the camper to have complete ownership of their special experience; this is their home away from home. Therefore, you probably recognize that we communicate on our online platforms, specifically social media tools, more minimally than most other camps. We believe it is the camper’s choice of how much or how little she shares of her experiences when she returns to her life at home.

We have taken the suggestions and comments into consideration and are working with our Board committees on how we might be able to implement them while keeping to our philosophy.

We’d like to thank all of the parents and families who responded to our survey. We really appreciate hearing from you!