Day Camp Satisfaction Insights
The Day Camper Satisfaction Insights Surveys provide a look at what family and staff really think of everything—from programming to safety, and food to facilities. This in-depth professionally designed research tool helps camps pinpoint strengths and growth opportunities according to respondents’ feedback. By revealing potential areas for improvement, camp leadership can identify an action plan that will help them better serve campers, staff, and parents.
DCSI surveys help camps:
- Determine areas of strength for the camper experience.
- Identify areas of opportunity in programming, fundraising, facilities, marketing, retention, alumni, and more.
- Manage perceptions and expectations of camper families.
- Hear feedback from staff on how to improve their experience for better staff recruitment and retention
SI Special Features:
- Write up to three fully customizable questions for each survey.
- Collect the email addresses of family and staff who have filled out the survey so you may do targeted outreach and/or an incentive program. Email addresses will be kept separate from survey answers.
- Administer a 3 question mid-summer pulse survey for staff, at no additional cost.
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Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) designs and administers both DCSI and DCSSI to provide you with timely customer service. FJC continues to subsidize the cost to run the surveys.
For Participating Camps
2025 Day Camp Satisfaction Insight Surveys
We are excited you’re participating in FJC’s Day Camp Satisfaction Insights this year. These surveys will provide you with insights into the experiences of your whole camp community. We hope you’ll mine your data for learnings that can help your camp continue to thrive.
This page has everything you need to know about the DCSIs. From a timeline of important dates to strategies for getting a good response rate. New to the DCSI’s? You can watch our orientation video here.
If you didn’t register for the 2025 Satisfaction Insights, we hope you’ll consider signing up for them for summer 2026. Look out for our announcements about registration next spring.
Important Dates
You last heard from us on June 26th when we sent you an email from data@jewishcamp.org with all of your SI survey and dashboard links.
| Timeline | |
|---|---|
| Early June | You will receive the links and password for your DCSI |
| Late June | You will receive the links to send out your DCSI and your DCSSI dashboard |
| After each session | Send your DCSI links to families |
| End of Summer | Send your DCSSI a few days before staff leave and remind them to fill it out if they haven’t already once they get home |
| September 14th | DCSI and DCSSI close |
| Fall 2025 | Review your dashboards with your team to start planning for next summer! |
DCSI Response Rate Tips
- Talk up the surveys – Tell parents about this survey at drop off and pick up – remind them in other emails that the survey is coming and it’s important to you!
- Delegate – Is there someone who could help you send out these emails?
- Make a plan before camp starts. – You can write your email now and paste the survey link in when you get it in June. Then, schedule the emails to go out at the appropriate time.
Click here for an example email
Subject: Help Us Make Camp Even Better!
Dear [CAMP NAME] Families,
We’d love your help making camp the best it can be! Please take a few minutes to fill out our Day Camper Satisfaction Insights (DCSI) survey.
Your feedback helps us understand what worked for your family and how we can improve for next summer.
[Insert survey link here]
Thanks so much for being part of our community!
Warmly,
[Camp Director]
DCSSI Response Rate Tips
- Share positive responses from the DCSI with staff – remind them that they will get to fill out a survey too and that their feedback is invaluable!
- Share how you made a change based on what you heard from last year’s DCSSI
- Give staff time to fill out the survey while they are still at camp. Offer a special treat and a break in the air conditioning while staff fill out the survey on their phones.
- Send personal messages – people are more willing to do something if they have a personal connection with the person asking. Have supervisors send heartfelt texts after camp asking their supervisees to fill out the survey.
- Offer an incentive – a gift card or raffle some swag
Utilizing the Dashboard
- Your dashboard updates in real time
- Your dashboard has data export links so that you can export your raw data. See your dashboard for more details.
- If you participated in the surveys last year, there are a few measures we brought into your dashboard so you can compare how you are doing to last summer. They are labeled with the year in the title.
- If you registered to collect parent emails to keep an updated email list or to follow up on an incentive your camp offered, you can find those at the bottom of your dashboard under “Parent Emails”
FJC’s Learning & Research team is here to support you and provide guidance and suggestions for how to improve your camp’s response rate. If you have questions about the DCSI or DCSSI, please email data@jewishcamp.org
Satisfaction Insight Survey FAQs
What kinds of questions will the surveys ask families and staff to answer?
The DCSI will ask families to provide their reflections and satisfaction ratings with:
- The overall experience
- Camp programming & facilities
- The social emotional environment at camp
- Camp policies and communication
- Impacts of camp
- Camp leadership and staff
- Jewish life
- Demographics
- Open ended questions to gather testimonials and feedback
The DCSSI measures and provides insights regarding:
- Overall satisfaction and likelihood of returning
- Impacts of camp
- Work environment
- Direct supervision & camp leadership
- The social emotional environment at camp
- Quality of training and professional development
- Jewish experience
- Demographics
- Open ended questions to gather testimonials and feedback
When Should I Send My Surveys Out?
DCSI
Send the DCSI survey to families whenever their time at camp is over. If a family is only enrolled in camp for session 1, send it to them at the end of session 1. If a family is attending sessions 1, 5, and 8, send it to them after session 8. Send out one survey per family, not per camper.
DCSSI Pulse
Send the pulse survey to staff at the midpoint of the summer. If you do staff performance evaluations, we suggest sending this out before you do those to show staff that camp is interested in their feedback.
DCSSI
Send the DCSSI out to staff at the end of the summer. We suggest scheduling time to do it while staff are still physically at camp and provide a snack or treat. If there is not time to administer it at camp, send it right after counselors leave with a message of gratitude for their hard work and a promise to use their feedback to make next summer even better.
What are the best practices for a good response rate?
- DCSI – Talk up the surveys! Tell parents at pick up and drop off that they should expect the survey in their inbox in a couple of days and that you really appreciate them taking the time to fill it out.
- DCSSI – Offer an incentive like a gift card or raffle off some swag.
What are the dashboards? What do they include?
The data dashboards display your camp’s data in real time throughout the summer as you receive feedback. You will be able to see key respondent demographics including gender, grade, and number of summers spent at camp. The results of your custom questions will appear on the dashboard as well.
When can I register for the surveys?
Registration for the Satisfaction Insights Surveys will open in the spring. Check your inbox for more information in the upcoming year.