ABOUT OUR CIT PROGRAM
Our intensive CIT program is quite different from most other CIT programs. CITs at Camp Akiba pay nearly the full camper rate to attend because their program is lead by our highest paid staff with the most education and experience. Our CITs do not spend most of their CIT year working with the campers; although, they do have regular daily hours when they are responsible for campers, and they also spend one entire day near the end of the session working in a unit as if they were a counselor. The bulk of the CIT year is spent teaching CITs about the skills and responsibilities required to be an excellent counselor in the future. We feel that recognition of what it takes to be an effective counselor requires observation of excellent staff from a new perspective, discussion and role playing under the supervision of a well trained and effective "master counselor" (the CIT trainer), and education about pedagogy, people management, and team-work skills.
Because Camp Akiba's special brand of creative programming incorporates the concept that engagement and supervision are managed by appropriate content & planning, we focus much of our CIT education on teaching programming skills within the context of people management, child development, and group dynamics. This ensures that our staff are well aware of the mechanisms which enable us to avoid the pitfalls of misbehavior and boredom; thereby, we rarely deal with the repercussions of ineffective or inappropriate programming. Thus, the relationship that forms between camper and counselor is sound, mutually respectful, and loving rather than authoritarian and adversarial. We teach that positive expectations result in positive behaviors and high achievement. We nurture our staff and our campers in such a way that even negative experiences become positive learning opportunities.
The Camp Akiba CIT is not guaranteed a job at Camp Akiba by virtue of completing our program. The job of counselor at Camp Akiba is a coveted and competitive position. A CIT needs to show excellent effort and growth during their CIT year in order to be considered a viable candidate for counselor the following year. Our extensive focus on training prepares even some of the most immature CITs for the challenge, but, still, some CITs are not hired back as first year counselors the year following their CIT experience (though they may considered the 2nd year following their CIT year depending on circumstances).
First year counselors at Camp Akiba take on the role that many CITs have at other camps -- that of Junior Counselor in the cabin unit, following and learning from senior counselors (sometimes with decades of experience). Our first year counselors are not paid to work...they pay roughly half the camper fee for the privilege to learn and apprentice with an experienced set of senior staff members.
About our CIT Trainer:
Lisa Sriro has been attending Camp Akiba for over 25 years. She has worn every kind of "hat" at camp - from camper to cabin counselor to unit head to staff developer. She is extremely excited to help train and inspire future camp counselors in the summer CIT program. Lisa is an Educational Therapist during the school year and has a background in working with children of all ages. She knows how to tailor activities for each age group using creativity and knowledge while instilling Jewish values and themes. She is really looking forward to another memorable summer at Camp Akiba!
Lisa Graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1998 with a BA in Dramatic Arts. Lisa then went on to grad school where she earned a Master's of Arts degree in Special Education from Cal State Northridge in 2005 with an emphasis in Educational Therapy.
