Staff & Training

The Camp Chateaugay staff is one of our most valuable resources. The success of our camp is due to our staff, and we go to great lengths to find the most dedicated and experienced counselors to ensure a warm, nurturing environment for our campers. Camp Chateaugay has a very high staff return rate, and this large alumni staff base enhances our campers’ sense of family, which they look forward to every summer. 

What makes our staff different: 

  • Counselors are at least 18 years old, have completed a minimum of one year of college and have impressive experience working with children.
  • Head Staff are at least 23 years old. 
  • Athletic and activity heads have deep experience coaching, teaching or participating at a high level in the activity for which they’re hired.
  • Staff development is led by industry experts. 
  • Background checks are cleared on every staff member at camp has passed a thorough background check. 
  • Our high counselor-to-camper ratio ensures that we have 2 to 3 counselors per cabin, and one unit leader overseeing 2-3 cabins. 

Athletics

Our athletic personnel are safety-oriented coaches, teachers, and college-level players who, through their expert instructional skills, create an age and developmentally appropriate environment for all campers. This hands-on approach provides an opportunity for Chateaugay staff to recognize each child’s needs and help them feel confident and proud of their growth. Our team knows when a child is in need of encouragement, reassurance, or the extra hug that you would give if you were there.

Unit Leaders

Unit leaders are head staff members who, quite often, are also full-time teachers, school administrators and parents. It’s their job to ensure each child has a safe- and fun-filled summer by monitoring their health, social well-being, and daily hygiene. The head staff meets daily with our camp director and owner to review important events and matters concerning the children and camp. Our unit leaders live in private quarters but spend a lot of time in their campers bunks, which allows them to provide both staff and campers with additional support. Unit leaders also schedule a pre-camp call with every family, to get to know each child before they come to camp and discuss their specific needs.

Staff Training & Development

We ensure that our experienced team has the tools to make a Chateaugay camp experience a safe, fun-filled and meaningful environment for kids. Head staff prep for 5 days before the full staff comes to Chateaugay, and then all staff attend an 8-day training camp, focused on the following: 

  • We partner with True Colors, a company that works with business to help their employees be more effective teammates, collaborators, leaders, thinkers and innovators. 
    • Each counselor goes through a personality assessment to learn more about themselves and their peers, and how to best collaborate with each other. 
  • We learn research-based methods to understand child behavior and motivation, taught by outside experts at the top of their fields:  
    • Social & emotional learning and bully prevention: Dr. Chris Thurber, who created Prep4Camp, teaches counselors to help campers, manage time, sleep well, handle stress, participate in activities, communicate clearly, and thrive at camp.