General Information for Staff

"The tremendous impact that Camp Starfish has had on
me is nearly impossible to verbalize. Everyday that I am
working at Camp Starfish I know that I am doing
something amazing. Where else in your life can you
experience that? Camp allows your best qualities to shine
through; I am the best version of myself when I am at
camp. And throughout the rest of the year I can look at
my camp pictures and remember that I did something
great for kids. In the midst of finals, or work, I can find
comfort in the fact that I will be back at camp doing
something positive with truly amazing people."

To answer the question, "How will I make a
difference this summer in the life of a child?", you
only need to look as far as Camp Starfish. And, the
campers aren't the only ones who grow at camp...

...As a member of the staff team at Starfish, you'll have
an opportunity to meet and work with people who
have a diverse range of experiences and who come
from many different cultures and backgrounds. There
are unlimited opportunities to learn, make friends, build
connections for your future, and of course, help
emotionally-, behaviorally- and learning-challenged
children to have the summer of their lives!

Read on below to learn more about our pre-camp Staff
Training (you'll be so ready when the kids get here!), our
Internship opportunities (you can earn academic credit
for your paid work at Camp Starfish!) and how we ensure
that you have the supervision and the support you need
to do your best work on behalf of the kids at camp.

Whether you are looking to grow personally or develop marketable skills for the
corporate or professional world, work at Camp Starfish will prepare you for
almost anything! Learn and perfect the arts of communication, leadership,
teamwork, problem solving, adaptability and compromise. Camp leadership staff also
work with all staff members to give them continuous feedback, guidance and support.

Internship programs are available for college credit in many different disciplines.
In previous summers, staff with majors in Social Work, Recreation, Sports Science,
Wilderness Leadership, Psychology, Education, Business Management and many other
subjects were able to spend the summer having fun at camp while still working towards
their degree! If you are interested in an internship or are wondering about internship
credit, please contact us. Our staff are very willing to work with you to make sure you
fulfill your requirements.

Get Trained! Because our goal is to have staff on camp who are well-trained and confident
in their abilities to create a wonderful experience for campers, all of our staff attend an
intensive pre-camp training week. We cover an amazing amount of information during this
time, including camp policies and procedures, child abuse awareness/training, basic safety,
first aid and health care, waterfront training, team-building workshops, risk management,
behavior management including extensive work with the Starfish Tools and Strategies, child
and group development, outdoors orientation (campfires, etc.), how to effectively lead a
group and activities, diversity, conflict resolution, bullying, practicing how to structure camper
activities and learning the daily routines and camp traditions. Many potential camp scenarios
are role-played during training. Role plays include resolving camper conflicts, calming
agitated and angry children, and reassuring anxious and frustrated children. By role playing,
working in small groups with leadership staff, and through multiple other learning formats,
you will be more than ready when the campers arrive! We also will work on some all-camp
work projects that will spruce up camp. (Luckily we save some time at the end of the week
to do some cabin prep so you can create the Bunk 4 Spaceship or the Bunk 1 Princess
Palace you've been dreaming about ever since we handed you that construction paper!)

Our well experienced supervisors (we call them Leadership Staff or Administrators)
are responsible for providing counselors with the support needed to implement a
highly-structured program that sets every child up for success. You won't be left
alone to run activities - you'll always have co-counselors for support, and an area
coordinator who is there to make sure you have what you need. In your bunk, you've
got a group of staff to help you tackle everything - from waking up a cabin full of
campers who "really just want five more minutes to sleeeeeep!" to cabin clean-up to the
overnight camp-out. A leadership staff member can be found nearby every activity on
"coverage" so that you can be sure that someone's "got your back" when you need an
extra hand with a camper, group or transition. Moreover, if a child's behavior becomes
too complicated to manage, an administrator or lead counselor is always nearby to help.

Lead counselors, along with village administrators, also run nightly team meetings.
At each meeting, the counselors working together in a bunk review how the day went
and develop strategies to ensure every child has the opportunity and support they need
to reach their goals and enjoy a fun, successful summer. Challenges you've had during
the day are also discussed if you want feedback or would like some extra advice for the
next day. Plus, you finish the day informed about each camper and staff member in your
bunk and you know what's going on the next day in the village, in your program area,
and in the exciting world of all-camp events.

Staff Goals and Performance Reviews aren't stressful...they're supportive.
At the beginning of each session, every counselor establishes specific goals with
his/her supervisor. These goals are seen as shared by the counselor and the
supervisor in that the supervisor works closely with the counselor throughout the
course of the session to ensure that strategies are being implemented to help the
counselor achieve his/her goals. We encourage staff to set goals not only related to
their cabin life ("facilitate one positive social interaction between campers by breakfast
each day") and their program area ("create fully inclusive activities at sports & rec"),
but also for themselves individually. For example, maybe you'd like to be more
spontaneous with your ability to get up and lead songs, or perhaps you want to work
on developing your swim instruction skills at the waterfront. At the end of each session,
you'll have the opportunity to sit down with your supervisor and discuss where you each
believe your performance is in relation to the goals you've set. From there, new goals
can be developed or continuing goals can be reevaluated, and you can get ready for
another great session where the hard work you're putting in is so valued!