Maine Camps & Maine Boarding Schools: Covid-19 Mitigation Collaboration

Whether as campers or as students, keeping children (and staff) safe while providing quality experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic is the goal shared by Maine overnight camps and Maine boarding schools alike. Recently, Maine Camp Experience, the community of 30+ premier overnight camps, invited Heads of Schools from some the leading boarding/day schools in Maine to speak about best practices and mitigating Covid-19 outbreaks on campus. Directors from Maine Camp Experience (MCE) camps leaned in for this beneficial Zoom meeting of the minds which featured Chris Cheney of Kents Hill School, Marty Mooney of Bridgton Academy, and Erin Mayo of Fryeburg Academy.Marty, who was joined by his wife Dani Mooney, a public health specialist, aptly said: “Maine Camps took the baton for the first leg this summer; we learned from you and now we’re turning that around and adding our insights to make it work for our schools.” And working well they are. These schools have written and followed their Playbooks to safely run top-notch programs. They have finished or are now finishing their first semesters and have successfully avoided outbreaks, while managing a few cases as well. The success of Maine camps and Maine boarding schools can be characterized by the same principles: detailed planning, following protocols, dedication, responsibility, flexibility, creativity, communication, collegiality, and engaging experts. Maine overnight camps and Maine boarding schools have extensive testing programs and follow mitigation measures for distancing, masks, disinfecting, and pods/cohorts. The camps and schools plan with flexibility to adjust as needed. We have contingencies regarding physical spaces, schedules, activities, meals, and more. We collaborate with entities within our communities and beyond for best practices. We establish access to expertise early on and continue throughout. We develop and rely on good communication with our camper/student families. And, we emphasize staff training. We also focus on mental health so we can provide “normalcy” or the best possible adapted version of it to provide high-quality programs during these unprecedented times.We know things will continue to change and evolve with respect to Covid-19 in the coming months with vaccines, therapeutics, and more. We are 100 percent confident no matter where we are, Maine Camp Experience camps will be ready for summer 2021, and collaboration like this with Heads of Schools from prominent schools like Kents Hill, Bridgton Academy, and Fryeburg Academy help us get there.  — Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.

Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.

Next, be sure to  to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.