How do you run Scouting as a drop-in program?

[Beavah]

This is a followup to BA's thread on attendance expectations. Quite a few folks claimed to run their programs on a "drop-in" type of basis, claimin' that if they expected kids to show up regularly or whatnot they'd lose half their members.

 

I'm curious how that works (or how yeh make that work)? How do yeh handle, for example, the lad who at the end of the first year is still a Tenderfoot while his buddies are all First Class? Don't you tend to lose 'em? How do yeh handle leadership positions and PLCs? Do those have higher expectations? Do the drop-in players lower your range of campouts for safety/comfort reasons, or do yeh find they're not ready for high adventure with their same age peers?

 

I've worked with a lot of units over the years, and I can't honestly say I've ever seen a program that's handled this with what I'd call real success. I'd love to find some fresh, successful ideas to share with others.

 

Beavah

 

[hotdesk]

In our troop we actually encourage scouts to participate in other activities. We remind them that meetings are weekly and that there will be at least one campout per month.

 

HOWEVER, the scouts that want to serve in leadership positions are expected to attend meetings and the ones serving on the Patrol Leader's Council are expected to attend meetings and outings. In order to be appointed to Scribe, Libriran, or Quartermaster the scout must have attended 50% of the meetings in the last 6 months. Those wishing to serve as SPL, ASPL, TG, or Patrol Leaders are expected to have attended 75% of the meetings in the last 6 months and at least 50% of the campouts in the last two years. So that's how we handle our leadership positions.

 

We tend to find that all scouts, in their first year, are generally excited about scouts. If you get them to Summer Camp and they don't leave early they will stay with scouting. If you get them to First Class during their first year then they will continue to advance IF THEY WANT.

 

Our scouting troop is small (26 registered scouts with 22 active scouts). Therefore all the scouts get to know each other pretty well and many end up doing activities outside of scouting as friends. Therefore they do attend meetings, as possible, to at least have that chance to be with friends.

 

Our activites include a range variety of events. Our events from April through December include; Grant Pilgrimage, Rock Climbing, River Rafting, Summer Camp, Sea Base, High Ropes Course, Hiking/Biking, NIU Football Game, Scout Camporee, Family Mini-Golf, Day Canoeing, Bonfire, COBIA Overnight, Winter Survival Campout, Bowling, and Snow Tubing.

 

We find that the scouts are more than capable to participate in these activities. The younger scouts tend to show up more and the older scouts (who have learned the skills) are those that take up other activities. So there's really no restrictions on the campouts.

 

I would consider our troop successful for those in it. The boy's get the chance to lead, there are a wide range of activities, we attend a High Adventure Camp and Summer Camp each year, the scouts have multiple opportunities to fund their trips, and without being an Eagle Factory we have had nine scouts earn the rank of Eagle within the last two years.

[Stosh]

Priorities:

 

1) God/Church

2) Family

3) School

4) Scouts

 

It's always worked for me. I just make opportunities, it's up to the boys to take advantage of them.

 

Stosh

[GernBlansten]

Our unit, over 60 scouts now, I guess could be labeled a drop-in one. We have no requirement for attendance, except for PORs.

I tell new scout parents that our program gives the scouts the opportunities to advance to first class in one year. If they miss meetings or campouts, they miss opportunities to gain the skills to advance. Active, dedicated scouts usually get to 1st Class by first year. Others lag behind to a degree commensurate with their dedication. We don't kick these kids out.

[Oak Tree]

I guess we operate this way. We don't have any written expectations for attendance, and no consequences other that the natural ones (e.g. slower advancement).

 

How do we handle the fact that the boys advance at different rates? Well, that's never been a real problem. We have boys who don't focus on advancement. As long as they are having fun doing Scouting, we don't push them. We do offer periodic opportunities for them to complete the requirements up through First Class. Do the boys who don't advance tend to drop out? I'm not sure it's causal. I'd put it the other way around. The boys who aren't all that interested and are likely to drop out also don't show much interest in advancement.

 

How do we handle leadership positions and PLCs? We do not have any written expectations for these positions, but we certainly do have higher expectations. The boys generally live up to them. It's typical that only the more active boys want the positions in the first place.

 

We do not lower our range of campouts for safety or skill reasons. Sometimes we'll offer two levels of activity on a campout. Sometimes the boys will self-select out of the entire weekend if they're not ready. It would be pretty rare for us to have an activity where a certain level of expertise is absolutely necessary.

 

One thing that we've done is to increase the size of the patrols to about 10. That way if a few boys are absent, there's still a good-sized working patrol.