Info from PTC

[click23]

I was at the Philmont Training Center last week and learned about a some new things on the horizon. All of this came from Keith Christopher, he is the Director of the Leadership Support Service/Program Group from national

 

We have two new unit positions coming out in September, Parent Coordinator ,PC, and Parent ,PA. The PC is a fee position, the PA will be similar to the Tiger Cub Parent registration and is free. The PC is going to be a required position and a member of the units committee. This is a part of the National Parent Initiative, see http://www.scoutparents.org

 

They are also looking at a new "Mega District". On the professional side they they would have a DE for Program, Finance and Membership.

 

Another idea of rearranging the districts are Assistant District Commissioners for Advancement, Training and Camping. I am not sure if these will replace the committee positions.

 

The Centennial Quality Unit Award this year will have the same requirements as last year, but will have more FAQ info with the package.

 

www.BSAAlumni.org will be rolling later this year, it now redirects to www.scoutingfriends.org. This will be a resource for districts and units to find new volunteers. Along the same lines, the NESA eagle search has resulted in 60,000 new members in NESA so far this year, compared to 4,000 all of last year, the vast majority of those new eagles. A new NESA list will be available to councils this fall.

 

National is also working on the idea of letting unit commissioners and other volunteers have limited access to ScoutNET, or some other program, to be able to access rosters and training records of their units.

 

Below is taken verbatim from a handout from the Leadership Support Service group.

 

Training Updates:(subject to change)

 

Cub Scouting-

 

Cub Scout Fast Start online is being revised and will be available by the end of 2008.

 

Cub Scout Position Specific Training Manual/DVD(catalog # 34875) available as of June 08.

 

Cubcast will continue to be developed related to monthly Cub Scout theme and shared one month in advance of next month's program, including program ideas and a training topic.

 

Den Chief Training Online will be released summer 08.

 

Cub Scout Roundtale Staff Fast Start online training will be available summer 08.

 

Boy Scouting-

 

Boy Scout Fast Start course online is available in Spanish by fall 08.

 

Troop Leader Training available in hard copy with a PowerPoint to support the training currently on the Boy Scout Division website.

 

Good to Outstanding (Advanced Scoutmaster Training) available by end of 08.

 

Trainers EDGE is being piloted this summer Philmont Training Center (Train the Trainer course for Wood Badge and National Youth Leader Training staffs) and will be available in October 08 for councils to use.

 

Venturing-

 

Venturing Leader Specific Training being revised and available by early fall 08

 

Kodiak X Leadership Challenge Course syllabus now available along with support materials like patches, medals, staff patches and medals, etc. There is also a Kodiak website www.kodiak-bsa.org for more information.

 

Kodiak Facilitator Training being developed and will be available by August 08. Courses will be offered for Kodiak/Kodiak X Presenters/Facilitators course with two tracks as the skills are greatly different for Kodiak presenters and Kodiak X facilitators. Both courses will be a one day format, 8 til 5. There will be new Kodiak Presenter and Kodiak X Facilitator Staff patches. The courses are both youth and adults and will help deliver courses. The regions are working hard on recruiting Kodiak coordinators in every area. In many cases they are now able to offer Kodiak/Kodiak course director conferences at the area and council levels.

 

Venturing Mentor Training Course being developed and sill be available by fall 08.

 

Venturing Teaching Others Course being developed and will be available by fall 08.

 

A new National Leadership Society for Ventures who have completed VLSC, Kodiak, Kodiak X, Mentoring, and Teaching Others will be launched in August 08. Councils will then induct qualified Venturers into this society at a board meeting or other notable gathering. Certificates and society keys and/or necklaces will be secured from national while special frames for the certificates will be available from supp. This national society will offer more public recognition for the accomplishments of these youth.

 

Annually Venturing offers a volunteer and a professional administration of Venturing course at the Sea Base the first week of March.

 

Commissioner Service-

 

Commissioner Fast Start is being developed for new commissioners, especially for unit commissioners, to view shortly after agreeing to be a commissioner. Available by August 08.

 

Administrative Commissioner Fast Start for council/district commissioners avaliable by December 08.

 

Other potential projects being reviewed for online training include a series of video casts in support of basic commissioner training in small modules, with a plan for coaching in between sessions. Plans are to be available by the end of 08.

 

Overall Training-

 

Centennial Quality Award video was distributed in February 08 to every council with one complimentary copy sent for each district. It is also available online through www.scouting.org and the commissioners web site. It explains the Centennial Quality Unit Award and how to set goals and accomplish them in providing a quality program.

 

ScoutParents Unit Coordinator Fast Start training will be available online by August 08. This is designed for any volunteer who works directly with parents in engaging them with their unit's program by encouraging them to volunteer to do occasional tasks. This will be a new registered position beginning September 1, 08.

 

New Leader Essentials Course is being revised and will be available online by September 08, as well as available through Supply for teaching face to face.

 

Weather hazard prevention training is now online. This outdoor activity training includes safety precautions for lightning, windstorms, tornado, flash floods, extreme cold, etc.

 

 

More info to come in another post.

[rkfrance]

I've heard some of this within the last couple of months. We were kind of hoping it's just speculation.

 

District Commissioners responsible for training, advancement, and camping? Why not membership? Why not the whole district committee?

 

Are they talking about eliminating the District Chairman position? Why not just make the district committee all commissioners?

 

--

 

All the training stuff sounds great though. Some of it can't come soon enough.

[Bob White]

rkfrance

Commissioner servcie has always supposed t-o be involved in all these areas and in some councils it has been for many years.

 

 

I do not know what your experience or training in commissioning is but let me share the Mission of Commissioner Service with you. The Mission for all commissioners is to insure that all eleigible youth have the opportunity to experience a quality scouting program.

 

Now that you know that ask yourself what affects a quality scouting program?

 

 

Does training (leadership development)affect the quality of program? Certainly.

Does advancment affect the quality of a scouting program? Of course it does.

Does the outdoor program affect the quality of a scouting program? Yep!

Does fundraising affect the quality of a scouting program?

Does membership growth affect the quality of scouting? Yes it does.

 

So you see why Commissioner Service is already involved in these areas?

 

Why do you suppose that the District Commissioner sits in an equal and parallel position to the District Chairman? Before there were scoutmasters, there were commissioners. Before there were District Committees, there were commissioners.

 

Before you criticize the plan you might want to wait and see what the entire plan actually is.

 

 

[meschen]

"We have two new unit positions coming out in September, Parent Coordinator ,PC, and Parent ,PA. The PC is a fee position, the PA will be similar to the Tiger Cub Parent registration and is free. The PC is going to be a required position and a member of the units committee. This is a part of the National Parent Initiative, see http://www.scoutparents.org"

 

What type of units will require a PC? Only Troops? Or will all units including Packs be required to field one also?

 

(This message has been edited by meschen)

[Eamonn]

I of course will need to read more and try to understand more, before I can say very much.

 

I was at PTC back in 2000. I participated in the conference Delivering Commissioner Service.

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that Commissioner Service in now in such bad shape that it is beyond repair.

I'll freely admit that my only knowledge is what I have seen in the Council I serve and the Area which the Area Committee I sat on served (13 councils).

I'm not sure I can see any real wisdom in loading more responsibility on something that clearly is broken?

Is the idea to try and make Commissioner Service more attractive?

I'm sure some people will of course disagree with me but....

The Commissioner newsletter SPRING/SUMMER 2008 page 8 states:

Number of Units This Year: 120,695

Unit Commissioners Needed: 40,234

Unit Commissioners Registered :18,250

Need to Recruit: 21,984

 

Adding more work to a area that is so vastly understaffed and has been for a long time, with no sign of improvement?

Yes I do need to read more and try and understand more!

Eamonn.

[GNX Guy]

I wonder if they will try to enforce the rule as stated in BOLD PRINT from the Commissioner Fieldbook for Unit Service Page 24 "Commissioners must not be registered as unit leaders" "There is no room in a person's schedule for other Scouting assignments.

[rkfrance]

BW

 

FYI because you just need to know (I've seen this of you in several other posts), I am TRAINED and current District Commissioner. I have been in the commissioner service for several years, of which I've been a UC, RTC, and now DC. I fully understand how the program works and I don't think I need you to lecture me about it.

 

I agree very closely with what Eamonn said. How is adding more responsibility to the commissioner core the answer to fixing it? Do you think more VOLUNTEERS are just going to come running because "it really looks fun now"? I was told by our former District Chair that commissioners have a thankless position. I'd agree with that assessment. Now, let's take away elements of the district committee and add them to the DC's plate. We get to try to recruit more VOLUNTEERS, ADC's and staff, and shuffle more responsibility on top of (as Eamonn pointed out) a commissioner core that already needs to more than double in size to get things up to plan. Not a problem in Perfect, but I don't live in Perfect and there's not a Walgreens in town either.

 

I see fellow commissioners that are passionate and dedicated to the program. I also see far many more that have that position/title but don't contribute anything. The numbers Eamonn referenced don't highlight that fact.

 

I love being a commissioner. I love what being a commissioner represents and I try very hard to live up to that standard. Am I frustrated? A lot. But I keep going on because I've been taught even one person can make a difference, and if I'm that one person, there's a lot riding on my success (or failure).

[click23]

"What type of units will require a PC? Only Troops? Or will all units including Packs be required to field one also? "

 

My understanding is that PC will be required for every pack, troop, team, crew, and ship.

 

 

[Bob White]

rkfrance

 

Your original post does not ask 'where are the commissioners going to come from', it asks 'why Commissioners?', and so that was the point I addressed. Where they will come from is a challenge of varying degrees depending on the community you live in.

 

Keep in mind this was created and developed by volunteers, the National Council Commissioner and his committee, so they obviously see this as a functional plan.

 

 

[Kahuna]

BW writes: Before there were scoutmasters, there were commissioners

I think the history of the BSA argues against you here. There a lot of places in the country where there were SMs and no commissioners. I could cite a lot of references if you like, but I would think this qualifies as common knowledge.

In the earliest days, there were no councils and Scoutmasters got warrants directly from BSA HQ in New York.

[BadenP]

I agree with others here that the commissioner service nationwide is in dismal condition, in my own council there are two district with no commissioners and the ones that do have them almost all of them have only basic training and have little interest in the commissioner college program. The DE's and DC's are constantly complaining that it is nearly impossible to recruit volunteers to this thankless position. In communications with my scouter friends all over the country the situation is not much better in their councils. So with the commissioner service rapidly disappearing why would they be given more responsibilities by National? Oh Bob by the way you may want to recheck your facts and sources, the position of scoutmaster predates that of commissioner. Early on commisioners basically performed the duties of DE's before that position came into exsistence

[Gold Winger]

" The DE's and DC's are constantly complaining that it is nearly impossible to recruit volunteers to this thankless position."

 

There's probably a reason for that. I volunteered to be a UC which was fine until one of my packs* had an issue with another pack. CC from pack 2 ran to DC and DE and whined. DE and DC started "laying down the law" (their term) with pack 1. I first heard about it from a friend who is involved with pack 2 and later that day I got copies of all of the angry emails that flowed between pack 2, the DC and DE to the CC of pack 1. When I talked to the DC, I was told in no uncertain terms that it wasn't my problem, I didn't need to know anything, they had "laid down the law" and that I needed to do my job which was to worry about rechartering and make sure that the units made quality unit.

 

The former UC from pack 1 contacted me and let me know that this is why most of the UC in that district quit unless they are part of the circle of friends.

[eagle90]

What is the job description for the Parent Coordinator? Sounds like an unnecessary position to me. Is this a reaction to the helicopter parents we are seeing more and more of?

[FScouter]

The ScoutParent Initiative has to do with encouraging more parents to become involved and active with Scouting. A coordinator for the effort within the unit seems appropriate.

[evmori]

The ScoutParent Initiative seems to be a way to appease the helicopter parents who won't let little Johnny out of their sight!