I'm Jack Schott. I help families think clearly about summer camp.

I've spent 30 years inside summer camp. I've trained more than 10,000 counselors, visited more than 500 camps, and I own and run camps myself. This is where I publish what I've learned about how kids actually grow up well.

Jack Schott on the dock at Camps Kenwood & Evergreen, Wilmot, NH.

The thesis

It's not about the best camp. It's about the right fit.

Most camp marketing sounds the same. Smiling kids, long activity lists, blog posts about fun and friendship. All true. All useless when you're a parent trying to make a real decision for a real kid.

The question isn't “what's the best camp.” The question is “what's the right camp for this kid, this family, this summer.” Different question. Different answer. Way more useful.

The Camp Fit framework is the one I actually use when families call me. Five parts, plain language, no spin. Read it before you read any camp's website.

Start with the Camp Fit framework →

Credentials

What I actually do.

I write about kids, camp, and the small moments that shape childhood. My north star is something psychologists call Self-Determination Theory, which sounds academic but isn't. It's three things kids need: a sense of autonomy, a feeling of competence, and the experience of belonging. Camp delivers all three on purpose.

  • The camps I run

    Camps Kenwood & Evergreen. Brother-sister overnight camps in Wilmot, NH. Founded 1930. 230 acres on a private lake. Every kid known by name.

  • The writing

    Lessons from Camp, weekly on Thursdays. Summer Matters, the K&E newsletter. Write From Camp, my Substack for camp directors.

  • The teaching

    The Summer Camp Society. Cohorts, frameworks, and consulting for the camp directors trying to do this work well.

Inspired by three decades with happy, motivated, thoughtful kids growing outside their comfort zones at summer camp.

Quick facts

Seven quick facts.

01Biked across Spain in a shark costume. Long story. Good one.
02Believe summer camp is the healthiest place a kid can spend a summer. Not "one of." The healthiest.
03Started a nonprofit sleepaway camp in 2015. Stomping Ground. Still proud of it.
04Facilitate YPO-style forums for camp directors. Confidential rooms, real talk, no slides.
05Trained 10,000+ counselors. The job is younger than it looks.
06Visited 500+ camps before I turned 40. The good, the great, and the ones that quietly changed kids' lives.
07Spend my summers at Camps Kenwood & Evergreen. Best office on earth.

Elsewhere

Where else to find me.

Same person, different rooms.

Related projects

On the internet

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Read by parents and camp directors across the country.