What Are the Duties of a Dorm Mom?
Being a dorm mom for a summer camp, boarding school or university comes with a number of duties and challenges different from almost any other job. The dorm mom strikes a fine line between acting like a parent without actually being one. Understanding the general responsibilities of a dorm mom can help you strike that balance in your job, or help you decide if the job is for you.
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Safety and Well-Being
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One of the primary responsibilities is to look after the safety and well-being of the group of dorm residents you are assigned to. This includes helping them get proper care when they are sick and enforcing curfew hours. You'll also help students work through disagreements with their roommates in a healthy way, find positive outlets for stress relief, and help them make steps forward in their academic and social lives. Another main responsibility of guarding safety is to regulate visitors that come in and out to visit your students according to the university's or camp's visitation policies.
Awareness
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At summer camps and boarding schools for young children, you'll often be expected to know the general or exact whereabouts of the children you are responsible for. This ensures that they won't get lost, wander off to an unsafe location by themselves, or cut class. You'll need to keep weekly schedules for each student and have them with you at all times in case of an emergency. Depending on the situation, you may have to escort them to their classes and activities, especially in a summer camp.
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Facilitate Community
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A dorm mom is supposed to help everyone feel included and comfortable with his place in the community of residents. Not all students will want to hang out with each other, but the dorm mom must discourage exclusivity and cliques. The dorm mom must encourage group activities that help students grow closer and become better friends with one another.
Nurture and Care
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One of the biggest responsibilities as a dorm mother is to be there emotionally for the students. Students may have a really hard week with classes and exams, or suddenly find themselves missing their family and friends at home. The dorm mom has to be someone the students know they can talk through their emotions with and get constructive, sensitive advice. This would require you to be open to talking with your students throughout the day, especially after classes and before bedtime. You may want to set "open door" hours where students can come by your room throughout the week to seek guidance.
Clerical Duties
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Clerical duties and administrative work aren't the biggest responsibility of a dorm mother, but they do need to be attended to and accomplished on time. If students are long-term residents, you may have to fill out progress reports to send to parents, or talk with them on the phone on a regular basis about their child. For example, Morrison Academy, an international Christian school in Taiwan, requires dorm parents contact the students' parents at least once per month. You'll also need to fill out paperwork for any incidents that come up, and you may need to log the number of hours you spend with all the student residents you're assigned to
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