How To Start an Academic Summer Camp
Summer camps give children the opportunity to participate in activities and socialize with their peers. While many summer camps are focused on having fun, there are summer camps that promote education and learning. Often referred to as academic summer camps, they keep a child's brain busy and engaged, which helps prevent them from losing the information they learned during the previous school year. You can help children in your community have a safe and educational summer by starting your own academic summer camp.
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Instructions
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Get funding for your academic camp. You must have funds in order to find a facility, as well as buy supplies and possibly pay the staff. which means you'll need to acquire capital before you open the doors of your camp to students. You can choose to apply for grants, seek out private donations or use your own money to start your academic summer camp.
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Find a location for the camp. A daytime academic summer camp requires a room or outdoor space that can accommodate the group size and activities you plan to have. If your academic summer camp is going to require students to stay overnight, you'll need to find a facility that provides housing and also has the space needed for activities for your group.
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Determine what age you target. Academic summer camps for smaller children such as those in grade school are often focused on basic skills, activities and socializing. For higher grade levels, you can have academic summer camps that are more orientated to the classroom, and you may even be able to offer college credit if hosting an academic summer camp for high school students.
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Establish or affiliate with a nonprofit organization. If you're not operating the academic summer camp to make money, then you can register as a nonprofit organization or conduct academic summer camp under a nonprofit that is already established. Find out more about how to become a registered nonprofit organization by visiting the website of the IRS.
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Obtain accreditation from a school, if necessary. To get educational credit for attendees at your academic summer camp, you must be accredited by your state's education department. Accreditation generally requires submitting forms, lesson plans, curriculum outline and the credentials of your staff.
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Get a license to run the camp. Some states require that camps have a license. Check with the professional licensing or business licensing division in your state to see if this applies to you.
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Set a schedule. Schedules are important to the success of the camp, since you have many campers doing many different things at one time. Decide what you'll teach at your academic summer camp and plan times for this in the schedule as well as meals, snacks and social activities.
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Purchase liability insurance. To protect yourself and your camp, make sure you have the appropriate insurance that covers any injuries or damages to property from fire or natural disasters.
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Hire staff or get volunteers. If you are teaching for educational credit in your academic summer camp, you may be required to hire teachers with the appropriate credentials. However, if your academic summer camp is just for fun and doesn't issue credit, hire staff with general academic knowledge or
use the help of volunteers. Besides teachers, hire staff or get volunteers to aid in other areas important to the camp such as meals, housekeeping and office administration. -
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Purchase supplies and equipment. Before opening your summer camp for students, purchase the necessary supplies and equipment that you'll need to teach them. In addition, obtain furniture or other equipment you will need.
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Set the price. If you obtained enough initial funding to cover the entire cost of the camp, you can skip this step. But if students are required to pay to register, you need to set an appropriate tuition price. Choose a price that is a reasonable to the student and their parents, but covers the expenses still remaining that weren't covered by the initial funding.
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Promote your academic summer camp. Getting the word out to the students and their parents is important. While you can use general advertising and marketing methods, it is generally more cost-effective to target your specific audience. Promote your camp at places where students and parents are commonly found such as schools, sporting games and libraries.
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Tips & Warnings
If you register as your own nonprofit organization, you need to establish a board of directors as well as create written articles that govern your academic summer camp.
