Gender Inclusivity Policy

Concordia Language Villages is accredited by the American Camp Association, and we follow their professional standards and guidelines on all matters related to safety and supervision.

In alignment with American Camp Association guidelines, we house by gender, not biological
sex. We cannot and do not require anyone to disclose their biological sex as a condition of
attending or working at camp.

In all cabins, girls’, boys’, and gender inclusive, we expect everyone to respect personal space
and practice appropriate group behavior, and each cabin meets the first night of camp to
articulate expectations and requirements for living together in a group setting. All cabins are
encouraged to debrief and reflect on their day during Cabin Council in English each night.
Building these social emotional learning skills is important for everyone, and we take respect
for others and care for ourselves and our community very seriously.

Regardless of the gender identity of the campers and counselors or the type of housing a
camper lives in, we ensure that all campers are appropriately supervised day and night and
know that they can tell an adult they feel safe with if they ever feel uncomfortable for any
reason. All our staff take part in a week of orientation before camp starts where they learn
about child development, safety practices, and how to appropriately support and supervise
youth of different ages in a camp setting.

Whether or not a Village can offer gender inclusive housing depends on capacity and staffing.
Villages who offer this option usually have one gender-inclusive cabin. These cabins often have
wider age ranges than boys’ or girls’ cabins.

Our method for having campers express housing requirements/preferences is to either include
questions about housing in the registration process for sessions that have a gender-inclusive
housing option, or send out a survey before the start of camp to the parents/guardians of all
registered campers, where they can let us know whether the camper would like to be in a girls’
cabin, a boys’ cabin, or a gender-inclusive cabin.

For the gender-inclusive cabins, any camper whose parents/guardians specify that their
camper’s preference is to be in this cabin can live there, but they will not be assigned to this
cabin type by default; it must be specifically requested.

We do not ask for any explanation for why a camper wants to be in a gender inclusive cabin;
these cabins have housed villagers in situations varying from brother-sister pairs that want to
stay together, to trans and nonbinary villagers, to friends of specific kids coming to camp, to
villagers who are exploring their identities, to kids who see themselves as allies, and to kids who
simply like the idea of a gender-inclusive cabin. Similarly, in the “binary” cabins, girls’ cabins are
open to cisgender girls, trans girls, and nonbinary kids who are comfortable in such an
environment; the same is true for boys’ cabins. Again, we cannot and do not require anyone to
disclose their biological sex as a condition of attending or working at camp.

Gender-inclusive cabins are staffed with counselors of varying identities - this can include trans,
nonbinary, etc. counselors as well as allies. The number of counselors assigned to each cabin is
typically 2-3, regardless of that cabin’s gender designation. Villagers and staff are welcome to
disclose how they identify, but this is not a requirement. Our staff teams work hard to create an
environment in which all campers, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity, can feel safe,
comfortable, and included in a supportive community of peers and adults.