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Policies and Practices

1. Troop Meeting Times: The General Troop Meetings will run from 7:30 p.m. to program's end at 8:45 p.m.
   
   Scouts in Opening AND Closing Patrols should be at our meeting place no later than 7:15. An Opening Patrol will get flags out of the QM room and set up tables and chairs promptly so that meetings can begin promptly at 7:30 pm. The Closing Patrol should also be there by 7:15pm if they have responsibility for a pre-opening game and will stay after the 8:45pm closing ceremony to put away all the setup materials and clean the room
   
   Parents Note: Please help by reminding your Scout he is to be on time for the start of the meeting.

2. Troop Meetings:
   - SPL, ASPLs, and Patrol Leaders meet in the side room for 5 minutes at the beginning of each Troop meeting to review the Meeting Plan for that night and make sure everyone knows what they need to do to implement this Plan.
   - Service Patrol sets up while Scout leaders meet.
   - Scouts arrive at 7:30pm and Service Patrol kicks off meeting at 7:40 pm.
   - SPL assigns an ASPL and Troop Guide to each Patrol to better support Patrol Leaders, share their knowledge and experience with younger scouts and help Patrols be more productive.
   - Scout leaders act as a role model and do the following:
   
   •Wear scout uniform
   •Actively participate in Troop meetings and outings.
   •Avoid using electronics during the meeting.
   •Show respect to others.
   •Take leadership role seriously.
   •Treat each other as equals.
   •Be knowledgeable about scouting and scouting skills
   
   - Scout leaders ensure that electronics are not used during meetings (Remind scouts of this rule and give a warning if electronics are used.
   - At following meetings: Ask Mr. Keyes to hold onto Scout’s electronics until end of meeting.
   - Games Master leads a game before clean up and close, as an incentive.
   - Remind Scouts to take all their belongings and that items left will be put in a lost and found box.
   
   PLC Meetings
   - Use PLC meetings to complete a plan for each Troop meeting for the following month.
   - Scribe writes up Meeting Plans and emails them to Mr. McCarthy, Ms. Keating, Adult leaders, Scout leaders.
   - Use BSA monthly program themes as a starting point to plan meetings.
   - Post flip chart paper on wall with calendar and potential activities so everyone can see and participate.
   
   Communications:
   - Scout leaders need to check email regularly to keep up to date on Troop information.
   - SPL will call ASPLs on Sunday evenings to ensure they know the topic of that week's meeting and how they need to prepare.
   - Patrol Leaders will call all patrol members on Sunday evenings to remind them of the topic for that week's meeting and if they need to bring something or prepare.
   - Patrol Leaders will call patrol members who missed a meeting to find out why, update them on what they missed and let them know their attendance is important.

3. Uniform Policy:  The Troop is going to focus on greater adherence to uniform guidelines with some flexibility for routine meetings.  Scouts must wear the full Class A at the first meeting of the year.  If he's approved by the Scoutmaster, then the scout may wear, at minimum, a Class A shirt (with appropriate patches and insignia) and Troop 76 or other approved neckerchief/slide or bolo tie.  Scout pants and belt, although always welcome, will not be considered a requirement for such routine meetings.  Further, Scout shirts must be tucked neatly into pants and if a cap/hat is worn, it must be an approved Scout cap/hat or be taken off while in the meeting.
   
   The full Class A uniform, including belt, pants, socks, etc. must be worn for Courts of Honor, PLC Meetings, Board of Review, Scoutmaster Conferences and any Tuesday night meeting which is designated, in advance, a Class A meeting - for example when important visitors are attending like the recent Webelos visitors. Meetings requiring Class A will be so listed on the "What's Happening Soon" page on the website (linked to from the top right of the Troop76.org Home Page). In addition, full Class A uniforms will continue to be required for "public" Scout activities like Service Projects, traveling to Campouts, and, of course, Summer Camp.
   
   Parents Note: Please help your son remember that wearing his Scout uniform is not an option, it is his personal responsibility & obligation and something he should do with pride.
    

4. Attendance & Advancement:  Our Scout leaders will focus at Troop Meetings and Campouts opportunities for Scouts to progress in their rank advancement. To help support this initiative, it's important that Scouts working on ranks, up to First Class, remember to bring their Scout Handbooks to every Troop Meeting and campout so that requirements can be registered in their books.
   
   To help plan and manage these advancement and other activities, the Troop will take attendance at the beginning of Troop meetings.  In addition, note will be made if the Scout is in appropriate uniform and, for those under First Class rank, whether they have their Scout Handbook. This information will help us keep track which Scouts have been exposed to certain advancement subjects, and will be used to guide future skill sessions.  It also helps Troop leaders identify Scouts whose participation has dropped so we can reach out and encourage them to become more involved.
    

5. Leadership Commitments:  When a scout accepts a leadership role in the troop, adults leaders will maintain an active dialogue about the importance of being a leader.  This commitment will take the form of a clearly defined job description.  This will also include some measures of performance that will enter into rank advancement deliberations.  If you're interested in learning more, the details of these job descriptions are available as a series of "Leadership Cards" (click here to read them).  Please note, however, that at present, these Cards are very much drafts and will no doubt undergo change as our Scout Leaders map out the commitment levels they feel the Troop needs and that they can honor.
    

6. Troop 76 is “scout led, adult supported”.  By making scouts responsible for making decisions and following through on plans, they learn invaluable life skills such as accountability, leadership, independence, mentoring and teamwork.  During the journey, scouts also learn how to pitch a tent, build a campfire, backpack and many other outdoor skills.  All the while, scouts have fun sharing these activities with their friends and form new friendships.  In keeping with these goals, all troop outings and activities must be approved by, and scheduled through, the Patrol Leadership Committee, PLC.   In addition, all troop outings and activities must be reviewed and approved by the Scoutmaster.

The adults and scouts jointly developed and agreed to these policies.  We all believe will benefit the Troop in its Scouting programs.  If you have any questions or wish to provide feedback, please feel free to contact any of our Scout Leaders whose contact information you'll find on the contact page.