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 A Camping Primer: Questions Most Frequently Asked and How We Answer Them
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Where is Scatico located and what's close by?
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| The 275-acre campus is situated on two lakes in what's called the upper Hudson Valley, about 2 hours north from New York City, just east of the Hudson River. It's nestled between the Catskill Mountains and the Berkshires, both about an hour away from camp. Boston is 4 hours to the east; Albany, the capital of New York, is 1 hour north.
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What makes Scatico special?
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 Most camps claim to do the same things - bring about a favorable change in the skills, attitudes, and behavior of their campers. We try to run a camp in which youngsters are not exposed to pressures that they cannot handle; whether these pressures are competitive (in which there is an overemphasis on winning rather than the game); or personal (in which a counselor creates a tense bunk environment by setting unreasonable expectations for camper behavior).
This does not mean an abdication of leadership, where children do what they want to do when they want to do it. Far from it. We believe most children benefit from structured program with reasonable goals and responsibilities in a fun atmosphere, and the counselor's role is to provide sensitive direction.
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Where do the staff and campers come from?
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| Counselor staff primarily came from the United States. About 25% are international. Most campers come from the New York City metropolitan area. About 20% of our campers travel to Scatico from throughout the United States and from overseas: Venezuela, Tokyo, London.
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How do you make newcomers feel welcome?
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| Scatico provides a supportive, family-like environment, where every individual counts. Our intimate size (260 campers), strong leadership, and staff training all help in creating a welcoming and accepting atmosphere. Campers and staff all know each others' names.
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Are there any quick ways to assess the quality of a camp?
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 The camper and staff return rates give the clearest indication as to how likely a child is to be successful at a given camp. At Scatico, the return rates of campers and staff have consistently run at 90% and 65% respectively. At least one counselor in each cabin will have been at Scatico before, providing both stability and comfort to first-time campers.
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Who runs the camp and how is the camp organized?
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David Fleischner is a third-generation director at Scatico. He has also been the boys' head counselor since 1981. David has served as the president of the New York State Camp Directors Association and as a board member of the New York section of the American Camping Association. His wife, Diana Wallerstein, also works full-time for the camp. They have two camp-aged daughters.
Nancy Kleiner, the girls' head counselor since 1986, spent her childhood summers at her own parents' camp. During the school year she teaches 5th grade in a New York City public school. She is the mother of two grown children.
Scatico is located on a single property with two campuses, one for boys and one for girls. Programs and facilities are separate for boys and girls. Campers are grouped by age under the leadership of a group leader.
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Where will I live?
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| If you are a counselor, you will live in a cabin with children. The size of the cabins vary from small (sleeping 11) to large (sleeping 25). There is approximately a 1:4 staff/camper ratio in cabins. Cabins have beds, shelf space, and bathrooms (with showers, sinks, and toilets). There are additional showers located throughout camp.
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How much time off/days off will I have?
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| Staff can expect about a period off each day. There are five days off during the camp season. Once every four evenings counselors are "on duty" (have a nighttime assignment). Staff are free to leave camp on the other evenings. There's a curfew, which is strictly observed. A staff bus goes into town twice a week to the cinema or to a local restaurant.
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