ACA New England Associate Visitor Mentoring Program

Thank you for your commitment to be a mentor this summer. Below are reminders for your mentored visit:

Mentoring Program Overview

After completing the Associate Visitor Training, each Associate Visitor is assigned a designated number of mentored visits to support their continued development as a Visitor. After completing the designated number of mentored visits, Associate Visitors should be able to:

Satisfactorily complete the preparation process for a standards visit

Demonstrate a positive, professional, and effective attitude in conducting the visit and communicating with camp staff

Demonstrate knowledge of the content, interpretation, and compliance demonstration of the standards

Act as an ambassador for the American Camp Association and the accreditation process

The Process of a Mentored Visit

A mentored visit should be customized to each mentee’s needs. The mentee should assume responsibility for focusing on his or her skill development, through self-reflection and discussions with you. The process of a mentored visit is as follows:

Contact the mentee through phone or email. Discuss the mentee’s goals for this visit. The mentored visit evaluation forms can facilitate this discussion.

Once you know the mentee’s goals, plan the visit to support their goals by allowing opportunities for them to gain new experiences and develop their skills. This could include deciding who will take responsibility for certain aspects of the visit such as the Self-Assessment, setting up the visit, leading an interview or completing the score form.

After the visit, jointly discuss the mentee’s performance and identify goals for further improvement.

After the visit, complete the Mentor’s Evaluation Form and remind the mentee to complete the Mentee’s Evaluation Form. These evaluations are confidential and are reviewed by the Standards Chair and Mentor Coordinator.

Evaluation of the Mentee and the Mentored Visit

Evaluation of the Associate Visitor is a joint effort between the Visitor Mentor, the Trainer(s) and the Associate Visitor. The evaluation forms are one component of the process. Both informal discussion and other evaluations of the visit will be used to evaluate the Associate Visitor’s readiness to assume more responsibility.

Once the Associated Visitor is ready for promotion to Visitor and he or she agrees with this assessment, he or she will be recommended for approval by the ACA New England Standards Committee. A Visitor may choose to continue as an Associate Visitor or Lead Visitor as long as he or she remains current by completing at least one visit every other year, attending visitor updates as required, and maintains current membership in ACA.

Mentor / mentee checklist

Discuss Mentee’s goals for the Self-Assessment and the Site Visit

Assign specific tasks with your mentee supporting their development

Debrief the visit with your Mentee

Complete and return the Mentee Evaluation