2012 Journey to Excellence An introduction for unit leaders

Agenda Why JTE? Motivations for 2012 changes Common elements for all units 2012 JTE Objectives for Packs

Why JTE? Scouting's Journey to Excellence is the BSA's new council performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. It is replacing the Centennial Quality Awards Program as a means of encouraging excellence in providing a quality program at all levels of the BSA.

What JTE Brings to Your Unit A framework for planning the year The Journey to Excellence standards are based on what successful units do to continually improve If your unit plans to achieve gold or silver Journey to Excellence, you’ll have a strong and active program A method for evaluating your unit Journey to Excellence provides tangible measurements based on things you are likely already tracking, such as how many campouts you have, how many youth are advancing, etc., and uses simple ways to calculate your performance

What JTE Brings to Your Unit Guidance in areas where you might do better As you track your performance against the Journey to Excellence standards, you can easily see where you could do better Specific guidelines and standards of what is considered good performance Journey to Excellence has specific, simple measures to help you. You can easily compare what you are doing against the standards

What JTE Brings to Your Unit Early identification of areas for improvement Periodically review your unit’s progress to see where your unit is not performing as you might like and have plenty of time to make corrections Recognition for good Scouting You can proudly receive your bronze, silver, or gold recognition for your Scouting unit for the year

Changes from 2011 Build on the experience gained during 2011 Move to calendar year assessment for all participants Maintain the spirit of JTE by encouraging improvement across the major metrics of unit and district health Make JTE easy to understand and calculate using available tools and data Leverage JTE to actively improve Scouting in Northern Star Council

2012 JTE Unit Status Report

Common JTE Elements Membership - Recruiting and Retention Program - Advancement and Activities Training - Adults and youth Planning - Budget and Activity Plan

Budget and Activity Plan What is the unit do and how are they going to fund it? Information that units already providing to district Activity plan is the driving JTE communication piece for non- ScoutNet data More specific guidance as to what should be in the plan No specific format for plan, but templates available if wanted Activity plan covers calendar year 2012 (January to December)

2012 JTE Objectives Packs

Overview of Pack Changes Eliminated: Leadership Planning (combined with Budget), Lion Cubs, Pack and Den meetings Changed: Advancement, Training, Budget

Pack Objective - Advancement Advancement within the den and for the Cub reflects a well planned program that is engaging the Cub and his family, and that will retain them in Scouting Increase the ratio of ranks earned to registered Cub Scouts Bronze: 40% or 2 percentage points increase over last year Silver: 55% or (40% and 2 percentage points increase over last year) Gold: 70% or (55% and 2 percentage points increase over last year)

Pack Objective - Retention Retention is the measure of our success, because we know that the curriculum and methods will transform a young person's life - giving them greater success as an adult and contributing member of the community Improve the Pack's youth retention rate Bronze: 65% or 2 percentage points increase over last year Silver: 75% or (65% and 2 percentage points increase over last year) Gold: 80% or (75% and 2 percentage points increase over last year)

Pack Objective - Building Cub Scouting Quality and Quantity - they are inseparable, so growth in numbers of members is good for the community too Have an increase in membership or be larger than the average size pack. Bronze: Have a net gain of 1 Cub Scout or have at least 19 Cub Scouts in the pack Silver: Increase Cub Scouts in pack by 5% Gold: Increase Cub Scouts in pack by 10%

Pack Objective - Outdoor Activities We are fundamentally outdoor educators: Scouting began in an experimental Scout camp; youth are more and more separated from the life lessons that nature provides; we are a critical pathway to living in the world, instead of in a cave The pack has activities in the outdoors Bronze: Have 3 outdoor activities during the year Silver: Have 4 outdoor activities during the year Gold: Have 5 outdoor activities during the year

Pack Objective - Trained Leadership Training improves our skills; the better we are at leading a den or pack, the more kids will stay involved The pack has trained and engaged adult leaders Bronze: Cubmaster, Committee Chair, 2 committee members, 4 den leaders; Cubmaster and 4 den leaders are trained for their position Silver: Bronze + all direct contact leaders trained for their position Gold: Silver + all committee members trained for their position

Pack Objective - Cub Scout Camping Camping is correlated with increased retention; the districts with the highest percentage of packs attending resident camp have the highest Webelos to Scout transition rates and the largest average troop sizes The pack participates in Council Cub Scout resident camp Bronze: 25% of pack’s Cub Scouts attend Silver: 30% of pack’s Cub Scouts attend Gold: 40% of pack’s Cub Scouts attend

Pack Objective - Service Projects Service above self is a fundamental precept of leadership and one of Scouting's most important outcomes is leadership training The pack participates in service projects, with one benefitting your chartered organization. Bronze: participate in 2 service projects Silver: participate in 3 service projects Gold: participate in 4 service projects

Pack Objective - Webelos to Scouts We need packs and troops to work together as closely as possible - separate programs within a unified plan Have a Webelos-to-Scout transition plan with a troop or troops Bronze: hold 2 joint activities with a troop Silver: Bronze + 60% of Webelos register with a troop Gold: Bronze + 80% of Webelos register with a troop

Pack Objective - Budget and Activity Plan Planning and budgeting are fundamental to a healthy pack that attracts and retains youth The pack has an annual activity plan and budget that is continually reviewed by the committee and follows BSA policies relating to fundraising and fiscal management Bronze: submit budget and activity plan by 10/31/2012 Silver: submit budget and activity plan by 5/31/2012 Gold: Silver + plan includes dates for Fall Youth Recruitment, FOS presentation, and Pack annual planning meeting

Pack Activity Plan Guidelines Pack, pack committee, annual planning meetings Pack outdoor activities Service projects, including one to benefit chartered organization Resident camp Joint Webelos / troop activities (at least 2) Join Scouting Night date, time, and location Friends of Scouting presentation date

Pack Objective - Reregister on Time Complete reregistration, obtain all signatures, and submit paperwork to the council office prior to the expiration of your charter on 3/31/2012. Bronze only

Pack Scoring Bronze: Complete 8 of 10 Bronze requirements, plus earn 575 points (from Bronze, Silver, or Gold points list) Silver: Meet the Bronze award requirement and have at least 900 points (from Bronze, Silver, or Gold points list) Gold: Meet the Bronze award requirement and have at least 1450 points (from Bronze, Silver, or Gold points list)

Q&A More information is available on District Operations web site