Breaking Down the Walls Camp/school program brings diverse communities together - Hole in the Wall Discovery Center, Ashford, Connecticut

Camping Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2001 by Elizabeth Jeffrey

Recent acts of violence in U.S. schools have increased public awareness of the difficulties schools face in dealing with profound feelings of alienation for those perceived as different from the norm. The issue of diversity is not confined to the school-age population and is increasing in the United States as the latest census shows at least 25 percent of the U.S. population now belong to racial minority groups.

Schools are the central experience in children's lives where they will learn to address the differences they feel and see in those around them. Whether this is a positive or a negative experience depends on the lessons they learn in their homes, schools, and communities.

What's Camp Got to Do With It?

Camps share a unique expertise in meeting the social and interpersonal needs of individuals who come together from a wide range of backgrounds and expectations. Camps traditionally merge recreational adventure with education in a nurturing community of peers, role models, and caregivers. A camp's success in creating positive interpersonal experiences and the expertise that is developed along with this success have the potential to provide a solution to the problems of intolerance and alienation faced in our schools and communities.

It is certainly true that camps achieve some diversity education during the summer if it is a purposeful element of the program. However, the opportunity to serve even more children and address diversity more thoroughly is as exciting as it is worthwhile.

Discovery Center Collaboration

For six years the Hole in the Wall Discovery Center in Ashford, Connecticut, has facilitated a model diversity program that partners the best of camp and school. During this period, the Discovery Center brought together nearly five thousand fourth-and fifth-grade students from twenty racially segregated schools to work toward the goal of mutual understanding. The Discovery Center was developed as a camp/school program for pre-adolescent students, designed to provide a positive diversity experience through the use of experiential education in an outdoor, residential setting.

The Discovery Center was formed as a collaborative effort between The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (THITWGC), the University of Connecticut (UConn), and participating elementary school systems. Each of these partners provided a unique element that contributed to the success of the program.

THITWGC's administrative role

THITWGC, a summer camp for children with cancer and blood diseases, has a rich history in providing a caring and exciting environment for its campers. The experienced summer-camp administration took on all administrative responsibilities for the residential aspects of the Discovery Center. The camp's program director became the residential director for Discovery sessions, providing the camp structure and appropriate staff training, as well as working with all facility staff.

Although the Discovery Center brought a slightly different clientele and program, THITWGC also offered a valuable resource in providing a base of experienced staff. As THITWGC staff is made up of college graduates, many staff members were available during the spring and fall. They were happy to extend their work season while remaining in the camp business. This key staff was able to offer a strong foundation of trained and talented leaders to bring the life of the summer sessions (songs, attitude of caring, and safety awareness) into this new program format. The Discovery Center, in turn, offered the summer program a means of retaining some of their most experienced staff with the opportunity for long-term employment and increased responsibilities in the Discovery Center program.

Academic expertise

UConn was brought on board to create a program to meet the academic expectations of the classroom teachers and administrators. Since the Discovery Center's inception, a UConn graduate student, with an advising faculty member, took responsibility for the creation of a meaningful multicultural curriculum, including the coordination of the residential program with attending schools. The graduate student also worked as the academic director during Discovery Center sessions, developing the staffs academic training. The connection with UConn and other area universities also offered a significant connection with college student volunteers, part-time staff, and recently graduated students who became full-time Discovery staff. During various sessions, the universities also brought in students and faculty from UConn's School of Education to help develop short lessons, teach small groups, and organize field trips to the university's cultural centers, museums, and sports facilities.

The participants

The other crucial partners in the Discovery Center collaboration were the members of the participating elementary schools. Principals and teachers known at UConn for their creativity and positive leadership were contacted to identify those interested in a diversity partnership, involving a full-year commitment and a residential program for students and staff. The program included at least two joint field trips for both grades with a five-day camp stay for the fifth grade classrooms. School faculty and administration took responsibility for most of the academic and social preparation of the students before and after the residential stay. Teachers also worked as auxiliary staff during their classroom's camp sessions. This residential schedule required a good deal of flexibility among the teachers, but they were vital as models to their students in this new environment and helped to take the positive lessons learned back to the classroom and community. At various times, teachers assisted in labs, in cabins, and offered some of the center's free time activities.