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DO YOU KNOW... WHY WE TRAVEL...
Since 2000 SCATA representatives have visited over 400 camps, trips and schools
during the summer when these programs are in action. We have visited programs
across the United States – from the Northeast to the South to the West Coast and
places in between. And, SCATA has visited England, Italy, France, Spain and the
Caribbean Islands to see community service projects, art classes, internships,
home stays, film classes and tours.
The activity that occupies our time is travel. Since 1970, all of the
Student Camp & Trip Advisors representatives have spent their summers
travelling all over the world! Our travel is not a vacation; rather it is an
essential part of our work. It is the activity that enables us to speak from
personal experience when we recommend a particular program to your family.
All of our representatives spend the summer visiting and re-visiting the
hundreds of programs available to you in our SCATA portfolio.
Our office receives calls daily from program directors requesting
representation by our organization. We will consider including a program
only after a thorough evaluation is completed during a summer visit.
We are very serious about giving our families the best possible service.
Visiting the programs is the best way that we know to find out how a camp,
trip or school program really works. It affords us the opportunity to
observe many important elements of the program. We can meet the director,
observe the students, evaluate the facility itself, and assess the program
in a way that we would be unable to do if we relied on written materials or
videos.
We have seen some interesting and exciting programs in the course of our
travels. In addition to the traditional and speciality camps, we visit
travel programs, academic settings, community service projects and
wilderness/adventure treks all over the world.
Recent travel destinations include the US and Canadian Rockies and Pacific
Northwest, Belize, Costa Rica, France, England, Spain and the Caribbean
Islands. We have visited New England, Southern, Canadian, Mid-Atlantic,
Midwestern and California camps. Future travel is planned for Alaska, Hawaii
and the Far East. Over the years, we have found that there is no substitute
for an on site visit.
The only constant in our business is change.
Changes present themselves to us regularly. There are changes in trends:
what was popular last year is not necessarily in demand this year. The needs
and interests of our client families are constantly shifting.
Just as there are changes in client needs, there are changes in the programs
themselves. That is why, in addition to visiting new programs, we
continually re-visit programs that are already established in our portfolio.
We do this to make certain that we are aware of any changes that have
occurred.
There may be a new director, with a whole new staff. A son or daughter may
be taking over the reins from a parent and altering the character of the
program. A different activity emphasis may have been implemented; rather
than specializing in the arts, a camp may have strengthened their sports
program. A facility that had been run down and shabby may have been redone.
We want to see how the philosophy, facility, and staffing have affected the
overall quality of the program.
Often, as a result of a negative response to a visit, we put a program "on
hold," that is, we do not recommend it. The following year, we visit again
to see whether the problems that we observed have been corrected or changed.
If there is no positive change, we remove it from our roster permanently.
Conversely, if we see a substantive and significant improvement in an "on
hold" program, we put the program back onto the active list.
The process has worked very well for Student Camp & Trip Advisors. And we
believe that it works very well for you, our client families. The
information ultimately benefits the students who attend the programs we
recommend.
When our organization takes to the road every summer, we do it so that we
will have up-to-date, accurate information which is a valid representation
of the programs in our portfolio.
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