The American Camp Association is the industry leader for advocacy, education and setting the operating standards for camps across the country, of which there are 12,000. The 100+ year old organization works to preserve, promote and improve the camp experience.

Over many years the ACA worked with camp professionals to develop a set of over 300 health, safety and program quality standards camps must meet and maintain to be accredited by the organization. About 20% of U.S. camps are accredited.

Ferncliff worked hard this past year to achieve and document all the standards. Two ACA visitors came for a day in late July for a site visit and reviewed 300+ documented standards. Ferncliff did not miss a single standard and will be receiving our official accreditation in October when the ACA accreditation board meets.

Associate Director Joel Gill oversaw the process and reported to the Board; “It will be re-assuring to parents and guests that Ferncliff has objective verification that we meet all industry standards for safety and programming quality. A great thanks goes out to all our staff for operating a camp that adheres to these best practices. Special thanks to our program director Emily Wernsdorfer and last year’s interns Dorothy Thomas and Kelsey Tom.”