2nd Year Leader Notes

It's the time of year when 2nd year leaders wonder how to handle the changes in their troops. How many more girls to accept? What if no one re-registers? It's a time of change, and that's never easy for any of us.

Things you should do: Be as accommodating as possible when it comes to accepting new girls.
Things you should NOT do: Roll a doormat out over yourself.

You had a parent night when you first formed the troop, where everyone discussed their goals and expectations for the troop as a whole. Remember that new families joining don't have that history. You need to put together a "new scout info" handout that goes over those expectations.

This handout should explain when you meet, how often you have field trips, expected costs, expectations for cookie sales & parental involvement, etc. Also mention where parents can go to pick up their daughter if they fail to arrive promptly at the end of the meeting (your house? Nearest daycare center? Police Department?) Not only will this save you from answering the same questions with every new scout, but it reinforces the message that leaders are volunteers rather than paid employees, and being in a GS troop is a privilege, not a right.

You should NEVER have to bend over backwards to accommodate a family's demands. Special-needs kids may be an exception, butCouncil will send out special volunteers to help in those cases. In short, leaders shouldn’t never be burdened unfairly. It's supposed to be fun for you, too!

Personally, I'm not thrilled with the greater emphasis on age levels in scouting this year. A lot of leaders don't want mixed ages in their troop because Bridging becomes a problem. Again, it's up to you to tell new families up front about your troop's goals & expectations for year. I suspect most families would prefer to have bridge early or late if the only other alternative is not being involved in Girl Scouts at all. But it's easier for everyone if all this is laid out at the beginning.