Day Camp Satisfaction Insights

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

If you are participating in the DCSI, you last heard from us on June 5th when we sent you an email from data@jewishcamp.org with your DCSI 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 14^th	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.