Frequently Asked Questions about our Home School Program
My child does not swim/is not a strong swimmer, will they be able to be on boats or near the water? Yes. TrackersNW teaches students to be responsible around the water and are very thorough with proper boat and maritime etiquette.
What are the safety standards like in the After School Program? All of our programs operate with the highest safety standards. Instructors participate in safety training to maintain TrackersNW principles.
What are the qualifications for the instructors (Team Leaders & Field Leaders) and apprentices? Both Team Leaders and Field Leaders are outdoor and environmental educators with in depth experience in the natural world. The focus for Team Leaders are social group development, while Field Leaders teach an array of incredible skill sets through their years of experience in outdoor education, martial arts, building, and social technologies. The focus of both sets of adult instructors is the emotional and learning well being of the campers. The instructors at TrackersNW have made a lifetime commitment to a NEW approach in environmental education. What you will find is a consistent strength in our staff to facilitate communication between parents and staff. When your register for a program you will get a phone call from the ACTUAL instructor that will be leading your child's program asking what you need for support in sending your child to our program. This personal level of communication comes from the understanding that you are trusting us with your children and that we must reciprocate this trust by building a strong relationship of communication. This is whey we encourage parents to come to our Program Open Houses to actually shake the hand of and talk face to face with the instructor that will be working with their child.
Apprentices are immersion program students or high school students with an interest and experience in working with children. We review their hiring and treat their performance like a job. Because of the high quality working experience with TrackersNW, applications for working with us as an apprentice is highly competitive, this ensures that you have the best of the best for teen and young adult role models for your children. All of our break camp staff have had a background check to qualify them to work with youth.
What is the staff-to-camper ratio? We offer a ratio of one instructor (Team Leader or Field Instructor) to every six campers. Our goal is individual attention and conversations with students. Even more importantly is that the students work to guide each other with the TrackersTEAMS skills of leadership and teamwork we work to instill.
What is your instructors' medical training? All camp staff, including counselors-in-training, are trained in first aid and CPR, plus a they work with our in house naturopath, Dr. Mike Owen to really understand holistic care. Instructors also have Epi-pen certification. All programs have emergency procedure plans in place.
What is your refund/payment policy? Each camp registration is held to a 20% cancellation fee. If you cancel 30 days prior to program start, the total fee is refundable (minus 20% cancellation fee). If you cancel 14-30 days prior to program start, 50% of the fee is refundable. Cancellations made less than 14 days from program start date cannot be refunded. Registrations and fees are non-transferable.
If you have a year agreement and choose to cancel the agreement; the remaining agreement time will be prorated and you will be refunded 65% of the prorated rate.
Do you have a lost and found? Students are responsible for their belongings. Our leaders will do their best to ensure that students keep up with clothing, shoes and gear. Please check with the staff member at pick-up if your child has lost something. Items are donated to local charities after two weeks.
What are your expectations for youth participants? We expect all students to support the needs of the team they are in. We help facilitate this by offering the safe and supervised opportunity for children to make their own choices for learning and fun. With safe guidelines will often LET a child make a "mistake" to actually experience the natural consequences of their actions. Consequences can be both positive and negative. At TrackersNW we DO NOT shelter children from the world but recognize the enormous power of being connected to it.
What is your discipline policy? We also recognize that any mentor relationship is a relationship with family. We will definitively call on parents for support when we may not be able to meet a child's needs. We recognize that "disruptive behavior" often means a child does not feel the support they need, so through healthy boundaries and conversation we work to get to the root of the matter. Sorry this may sound "soft" BUT, we always assume positive intentions and that no one is trying to "ruin our day." We know that a team is about all the members negotiating to work together in a healthy way, AND we also recognize that it may be beyond our scope to give immediate support to. We reserve the right remove a child from a program if we feel they are taking too much from the team. This DOES NOT mean no further participation in the program, this DOES mean that we have an opportunity to sit down with parents and child and develop better strategies and agreements for working together. Again, this may sound "soft" but you should see what we think of is responsibility to the community. Its tough, and its a rite of passage we create WITH parents. AND we will also admit when we make mistakes, had a bad day, or judged to quickly. So as a parent trying to help a child become an adult.
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| Arriving National & International Participants Its easy to fly into Portland's airport and get a ride out to your workshop. We pick up and host up to two nights before. Fees $75 for each non-workshop night: meals and safe lodging included. Contact Us to make your travel arrangements. | |
