Author: Jeffrey Heck
New Law’s Opportunity for Scouting Recruitment
The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) is the successor to the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) of the Bush 43 years, expiring in 2007. The ESSA will have major impacts on school funding from the federal government and the expectations of schools that accept that funding.
Here is a quick overview. Worth noting is a requirement that is summarized as (italics added),
Districts that get more than $30,000 have to spend at least 20 percent of their funding on at least one activity that helps students become well-rounded, and another 20 percent on at least one activity that helps students be safe and healthy. And part of the money can be spent on technology.
Indiana will also have a say on how this new federal law is implemented. Indiana Code sec. 20-30-5-5 now requires,
Sec. 5. (a) Each public school teacher and nonpublic school teacher who is employed to instruct in the regular courses of grades 1 through 12 shall present the teacher’s instruction with special emphasis on:
(1) honesty;
(2) morality;
(3) courtesy;
(4) obedience to law;
(5) respect for the national flag and the Constitution of the State of Indiana and the Constitution of the United States;
(6) respect for parents and the home;
(7) the dignity and necessity of honest labor; and
(8) other lessons of a steadying influence that tend to promote and develop an upright and desirable citizenry.(b) The state superintendent shall prepare outlines or materials for the instruction described in subsection (a) and incorporate the instruction in the regular courses of grades 1 through 12.
While this statute refers specifically to in-classroom curriculum, we can see that the principles of the Scout Oath and Law are required to be taught in a school.
Being aware of this curriculum requirement and being able to refer to it when communicating with our schools as prospective Chartered Organizations helps demonstrate how scouting serves their statutory mission. Having the studies (e.g., Tufts study on scouting) referred to in the FAQ attached is another way to reinforce proof of scouting’s successes in meeting these statutory requirements.
Council has prepared a Frequently Asked Questions flyer on how scouting can contribute to bringing a school into compliance with these requirements.
Read through the FAQ and learn more about scouting and its benefits to schools. Then you can be an informed supporter of Council’s efforts to be re-introduced to schools.
Solicitation of Donations for Recognition
For Thursday, March 9, 2017’s Recognition Dinner, we are looking for donations of scout paraphenalia for the auction.
If you have a donation, contact Con Sullivan.
Wabash Valley District Cub and Webelos Leader Training
Council through our Wabash Valley District will host at Camp Wildwood in Terre Haute a Cub Scout Leader Training on April 8, 2017, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, for more information contact the Terre Haute Service Center 812-232-9496.
Later in the month, they will host Outdoor Webelos Leader Skills Training (which is similar to IOLS but specific to Webelos Leaders) April 22-23, 2017 at Camp Wildwood from 9 am (Sat) – 12 pm (Sun) – For more information contact the Terre Haute Service Center 1-812-232-9497. You will likely need to plan to stay overnight. OWLS is very important in the new Webelos advancement program. The increased emphasis on outdoor skills and working as a “patrol” require a Webelos Den Leader have more knowledge than the old advancement requirements. Get ready for the 2017-18 Webelos Den Program by getting trained now.
Sagamore Council Offers BALOO in Lebanon on April 1
No joke, BALOO (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation) will be offered by our neighboring council to the north, Sagamore right outside our back door.
It will be West Lebanon on April 1, 2017. See their website for more information.
This training is required of at least one Cub Leader attending a Pack camp out. Prepare your new leaders for the Fall of 2017’s campouts by getting them trained now.
2017 Wabash Valley BALOO Training Day
This event will help meet the requirement that every pack have at least 1 adult trained for an outdoor activity. This will only help Pack Leaders, not Boy Scout leaders. This training will last 1 day and help cover a variety of subjects to help your Cubs have a fun and safe outdoor experience. All leaders may take the course, not just Cubmasters. The event will move to the West Lebnaon “Scout Woods” for lunch and outdoor activities. less
Location: West Lebanon Library Cost: Individuals registered by March 10th at 5pm will be able to attend for free. Registrations after 5pm will cost $10, up until March 28th at 5pm. No walk in registrations will be accepted. Reservation by: Individual Participant For: Adult Participant Registration: 1/8/2017 Midnight – 3/28/2017 6:00 PM Event Contact: [dead link]
NEEDED: Range Officer Training in Preparation for Spring Camporee
For our Spring Camporee, we need range safety officers. The more RSO’s we have, the more we can use the ranges for more scouts.
Dan Beard Council in Cincinnati is offering the US Archery Level 1 Instructor Course on March 25, 2017. This is at Cubworld, part of the Camp Friedlander campus just within the eastern outskirts of Greater Cincinnati.
They are offering BB and Archery Rangemaster training on April 1, 2017 at the same Cubworld.
They are offering the NRA Instructor Training and another version with Pistols on the weekend of March 17-19, 2017. Familiarity with firearms safety is a pre-requisite. See the website for more information. The basic instructor training is only $35.00. This is at Camp Friedlander (see notes above).
Please help us by sending a member of your troop to the training in preparation for our great Spring Camporee!
Scoutmaster Specific Training in March
On March 18, 2017,Wabash Valley District will offer Scoutmaster Specific Training at Terre Haute’s Camp Wildwood, from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, for more information contact the Terre Haute Service Center 812-232-9496.
This training is required to recharter as a scoutmaster or assistant scoutmaster in the Fall of 2017.
Wilderness First Aid at Camp Maumee
Hoosier Trails Council (our neighbor to the south and council surrounding Ransburg) is offering Wilderness First Aid Training at Camp Maumee (just a few minutes past Ransburg and just short of the Deem Wilderness fire tower).
This is required training for one or two persons on any high adventure trek. I highly recommend it for scouts, since they may be the ones needing to assist the adult leader(s) on the trek.
Summer Camp Swim Testing at Pike
Don’t forget to touch base with Brian Crow, District Programming Chair and ASM at Troop 343, if your troop or crew is interested in doing the swim test at Pike High School
on Monday, April 17, 2017 at 7:30 pm.
Cub Scout Camping: Why do we do it?
Why should Cub Scouts camp frequently?
Simply put, true scouting is in the “outing.”
Since about the 1972 revisions of the Cub Scout program, I am led to believe, Cub Scouting had de-emphasized outings, specifically camping. This was part of a larger misadventure to make “scouting more relevant to the modern era” by making scouting more urban.
In Boy Scouts, this led to an immediate membership collapse and a re-introduction of outdoor programming a mere five years later.
Cub Scouts didn’t revise as quickly. Their revision re-introducing outings came only in the last 24 months.
Yet, when we give Boy Talks at the elementary schools each fall, the most successful speakers are the ones who emphasize the outdoor programming. They bring backpacks or tents and talk about simple outings. They talk about campfires and marsh mellows.
I have written before about my time as Cubmaster. We would hold three pack camp outings each year: October, May, and Summer Camp at Belzer.
More than any other activity, the boys would ask me, “When is our next campout?” An answer longer than “next month” was met with universal disappointment.
Yes, we camp with Cub Scouts because they find it fun.
But there is so much more. It is part of their personal growth as I have written about before. They adapt over time. It is part of their lessons in figuring out how they fit in the larger world.
The Cub Scout needs to learn at his own speed through new stresses as part of a larger community.
We camp because the basic of society and community are all present. The comforts of home are removed. He learns about himself without realizing lessons are being taught. He just sees fun.
We camp because it builds character, faster than any other method. That fulfills our mission as scouters.
Magic of 5% Improvement
At the recent Unit Key 3 Conference, I spoke about the need to work with your Unit Commissioner and your Unit Key 3 (i.e., Chartered Org. Rep., Chair, and Unit Leader) to do a Unit Service Plan.
A Unit Service Plan is a six-month “business plan” for your unit. It examines your annual planning & budgeting, your programming (like camping and meetings), your leadership succession plan, your adult leader training status, and your recruitment and retention status.
If your unit is not examining these departments on a regular basis, it is easy to allow one part or another to slide. The worst case scenario is you ignore the slide until the slide is a death-spiral do you stop and try to fix it.
The goal of doing regular Unit Service Plans is to prevent this scenario from occurring.
If your Unit Key 3 meets with your Unit Commissioner in the next 90 days, we would help you define ways to succeed in a predictable and healthy manner.
One trick is building your unit is to set goals of 5% across the board improvement. Five percent does not sound like much. But it is.
If your unit has 30 boys and it grows 5%, it means that you have replaced boys who have aged out or dropped out, keeping your retention at 100%, then adding an additional 2 boys (it is hard to have 1.5 boys, so I rounded up).
In programming it means moving from 10 monthly events to 11 events (rounding again). If you have 20 events, you move to 21. More opportunities for more scouting leads to more opportunities to find the one event that sparks the passion of one more scout. With the spark ignited, he is easier to retain, even when his parents are offering different extracurricular activities.
A five percent increase in fundraising, for example by adding camp cards to your existing practices, means that you have more money to use in programming that one more event mentioned above.
A five percent increase in trained adults means one more volunteer to staff events.
A five percent increase in advancement means you are less likely to lose scouts because they are progressing and are actively engaged in the program.
Now has your unit improved by 5%? I would argue not. You have add more financing, more capacity for adult leadership, more boys, more events. You are a much healthier unit.
When your next recruitment cycle hits, you will likely gain more than just 2 boys, because you have that much better of a program to pitch.
Schedule to sit down with your Unit Commissioner and see where you can plan a 5% improvement plan. Your Unit Commissioner’s job is to help you find the resources to make your plan work. You will be amazed at how quickly your unit will grow in a short period of time.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
You must be logged in to post a comment.