Troop 7   Adult Orientation

Scout Led, Adult Assisted

Parent involvement:  A scout will have greater scouting success when there is an active parent involved. The hardest thing to learn for the scout (and parent) is the transition to “Scout Led, Parent Assisted”.  A scout must learn to take initiative and responsibility.  The parent should make themselves available to assist the scout, make suggestions like “this could be a good time to work on some rank advancement items”, but the parent must let the scout take responsibility for himself.  The role of the parent and the adult scout leadership is to “provide a safe place for the scout to fail”.  Let the scout see the advancement of older scouts and their age peers to get them motivated.  Early on, this may involve going to several Court of Honor events without having earned any achievements. 

Rank Advancement:  Is not a race and a scout should not be made to feel left behind. If a scout does fall behind his peers, hopefully they will be motivated to take more initiative. However discouragement is also possible, and encouraging some first-year rank advancement can contribute to greater long term involvement.

Scout Meeting Attendance:  Not required but a good opportunity to see what’s happening and check in with other adult leaders and parents.  May be required if there are scout behavioral issues.

Campout Attendance:  Mandatory for all first-year scouts unless OK’d by the Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster in charge of an outing. The adult and scout leaders need to get to know the new scout and the new scout needs to get to know their leaders. Having the parent along at first provides a safety net for all parties.

Scout Camp Attendance:  Mandatory for all first-time scouts unless OK’d by the Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster in charge of the outing.

Health Forms: Annual Health and Medical Record (AHMR):  Part A & Part B are required for all attending scouting activities (scouts, adults, guardians, siblings, staff, friends, etc.).  Part C is required for participation in events lasting longer than 72 hours including an annual physical performed by a medical professional.

Youth Protection:  Registered and trained adult leaders.  “Youth Protections Training”, “Two-Deep Leadership”. A copy of the completion certificate is required to turn in with the Adult Application.

Parent Committee:The Parent Committee is the board of directors and oversees the troop program and troop administration.  Every parent should be part of the Parent Committee.  The committee meets 4 times a year (typically 1-2 weeks before a Court of Honor event).  There are several potential Parent Committee leadership positions. Troop 7 usually does not fill all roles, but whatever your strength is, we have a role for you!

Other 

Family participation in activities:  Generally, families are welcome to participate in scout activities such as campouts.  Not all activities are appropriate for all ages, and some activities (e.g. backpacking) may have a limited number of participants, with preferences going to scouts and scoutmasters, or have other restrictions about who can attend (e.g. scout camp or scout competitions).  If families (parents and siblings) go on an activity, the parents must take full responsibility for non-scout siblings and allow the scouts to function autonomously in their patrols.  This includes deferring to scout leadership for delegation of responsibilities and responding to any behavioral issues.

Medication and health conditions:  Scoutmasters must be fully briefed by parents about all health issues, medication needs, and any other potential complications prior to scout outings – the more issues that need to be covered, the greater lead time the scoutmasters need to absorb information, ask questions, and assess their ability to be responsible for the safety of all scouts on the outing.  With respect to behavioral medications (e.g. treatments for ADD/ADHD, anti-depressants, etc.) if a boy needs the medication to attend school, he needs the medication to participate in scouts.  Please talk to the Scoutmasters with any questions.

Costs and Fund raising: Troop 7 has not historically engaged in significant fundraising efforts, e.g. popcorn sales, and instead functions on a pay-as-you-go model. Annual dues are $100, due in December; Boy’s Life annual subscriptions are an additional $12 per year.  Week long summer scout camps are optional, with costs varying depending on the camp selected and ranging from ~$260 to ~$450. The initial deposits for summer camp are usually due between December and February. Year-round activities are self-funded, and include a mix of individual and shared gear, food and transportation expenses.

Gear: There is some troop gear available for scouts to borrow, and scouts are encouraged to share gear within their patrol. This should enable new scouts to go on activities without building out a complete “kit” of their own. However, as scouts become more interested in camping, they will want their own gear. Camping gear is available at all price points (REI, Cabela’s, Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc.), with costs increasing as durability improves and weight declines. Ask around to get different perspectives and opinions on what’s worth the extra expense and what is not.