Trackers Earth - SE Portland — Attraction in Portland

Ugh. Trackers camps are so hit-or-miss! The instructors are definitely overworked and probably underpaid. Things have gone downhill a fair bit since the early days. My recommendations for potential families: June and July are generally much better than August, when the counsellors are experiencing some burn-out. Also, watch out for the camps with a broad age range: my 10-year old got stuck in one camp with only other 7-year olds and had no fun at all. Some camps were enjoyable, but this one was a total disappointment. Relative to other 1-week camps around the city, you pay more at Trackers and usually get less. If they were charging less, I would say they mostly met my expectations, but they don't really understand that for about $500/week the expectations are higher. (This summer my kid had an equally good experience at 1-week camps run by Portland Parks and Rec - for $200 less. Not that they were amazing, either, but at least they keep expectations reasonable for the price, and they were fine. I had no complaints.) Despite the camp descriptions, usually what you get at Trackers is this: your kid will be occupied for the time they are there. If your kid is more self-contained than other kids who need more attention, your kid might be left alone to do whatever requires less work from the instructor while they take care of the squeakier wheels. Despite the cool descriptions, there sadly isn't enough quality instruction to feel confident your kid will actually learn any new skills. And I guess the individual instructors probably feel that they aren't paid enough to be great, or good... They are... okay. If Trackers really was what it tries to be, it would be super cool. The rhetoric is awesome. The delivery is spotty. (When I complained about a particular camp, they did listen, and then addressed it nominally, but not substantially, nor sufficiently to get me to sign my kid up for camps in the future. They just don't abide by the notion that they need kids or families to feel satisfied in order to succeed. You and your kids are expendable... if you don't have a good experience: too bad... Someone else will come along. ) UPDATE (IN RESPONSE TO REPLY):

1. We did have several conversations, and while I appreciate that I was listened to, at the end of the day they did not decide to resolve the matter satisfactorily, even after agreeing with most of what I said. (So, you kind of knew a less stellar review was coming - in fact you opted for it.) They spend plenty of time responding and defending yourselves rather than just saying "how can we keep this long-time returning customer happy?" They could have pretty easily made this right and chose not to. (You know exactly how to get my five stars.)
2. Before they pat themselves on the back too much for $21-$35/hour being "good pay"... it really kind of depends on how many of them are at the $21 rate! (And, just for the sake of math, it sounds like the counselor may take home $630/week.. of the nearly $5000 generated by 10 kids attending. Of course Trackers should have a profitable business, but that doesn't change the fact that Trackers camps cost a fair bit more than comparable area camps and thus should be subject to higher expectations.) Some of the Trackers camps my kid did this summer were enjoyable, and weren't problematic in any way... but even in those camps I can't say they learned a lot. A little, yes. Not a lot. Those were the good ones: not amazing, but no complaints.
3. Maybe take a gander at nearly all the other recent poor reviews and look for the common denominator....

Our family considers summer to be our "Golden Time" thanks to trackers. We don't go on summer vacations because my kids would rather be at trackers and I agree with them. I can't say enough good things about the people they hire. I am not sure what the processes is for finding these gems but it works. The counselors are full of energy, fun, and create a sense of awe and wonder. My kids are fully immersed in each camp and live it deeply. The counselors work well with all kinds of personalities in children. You won't see any whistles and embroidered polos here. The counselors dress up and take part in the theme of the week. They are laid back enough to allow kids to be kids and firm enough in boundaries to keep things safe for everyone. They are respectful to kids and in turn the children have immense respect for them. Another thing you won't see is a bunch of camp counselors on cell phones. Ever. They use walkie talkies to communicate with other counselors and staff. Finally, a place where your kids can be free of distractions and just be. It sets a great example for proper communication between people and keeps the rustic mood. To have people completely focused on your children is rare these days. My kids learn more science in the summer than they do all year. I was born and raised in Alaska so I feel qualified through my experiences to speak to this. At 4 my child knew more about plant identification than most adults. He was able to identify rare berries I had not previously shown him. My now 7 year old warns me on hikes which plants not to touch. My 5 year old will come running into the house with plants I can get water out of if I am thirsty. It's awesome to see this. They know a lot about animals, tracks, and survival. This teaches them to think outside the box. They look around and see, touch, and sense for their answers. Socially trackers has a wide range of kids which is great. Kids learn to get along with all kinds of children. They share, think about how to do things, and have fun experiencing things with kids in their age group. The shyest and most out going thrive here. Food allergies. Most of us know someone who has an intolerance or we have a sensitivity to at least one thing ourselves. Trackers is extremely careful about this. Each and every time you check in they ask if you have any peanuts or peanut products. My kids have other allergies but if they were allergic to peanuts I would feel comfortable sending them to trackers. They are always mindful of the allergies my kids do have and if food is involved we have always come up with a solution my kids are happy with. Sunscreen. If you use it let me rest your worries of burns. My kids even on the hottest weeks have never had a hint of a burn. They are careful of reapplying and moving to different spots if need be. Hydration. This is probably the most important thing to be concerned with in long hot days. They make hydration fun. Yep, fun. They play hydration games, kids earn stripes for drinking, and they set an example of talking about it and doing it a lot. Parking. They had 6 people hired to help with parking at one location alone. That's how much they care about your child's safety. Trackers has been the single most outstanding experience my kids have had the opportunity to be a part of outside of their home. I am grateful beyond words for trackers. What more could I ask for than each of my kids to be happy every day for the adventures they will have at trackers camp. We love Trackers! Thank...

As some previous reviewers have noted, TE camps can be a mixed bag. Unfortunately for our 5.5 year old, the Rovers Bike Camp was not a good fit for a variety of reasons.

First - don’t book this camp if you expect actual bike skills or drills to occur to improve your kids abilities. You can expect story time, some games, a trip to a playground, and other arts and crafts to take place during the 5-6 hours. Biking is a secondary component and is focused on riding in a circle immediately outside the facility and a bike ride from the facility (this ride sounded optional according to our son who apparently had the option to walk) to a playground. I frankly would have expected for them NOT to give an option if the goal of this thing is to develop new skills. After all, the literature they give you speak to working as a team towards a common goal. Find ways to do exactpy that to engage kids to ride and achieve something as a group. The biggest frustration is the bike time is minimal for this group (TE will try to tell you otherwise) and does not line up with how the class is marketed. I spoke to two additional parents on the last day and both noted zero new biking development or any discussion from their children around bike activities during the week.

Second - there was not any noticeable team building done as my son walked away knowing zero names (including the guides). The same guides appeared disinterested in making social connections or doing icebreakers so the kids could build a teaming environment. I can appreciate it's hard to find good summer help. But, my sense is these guides were not proficient at a) leading this age group and b) teaching biking skills….so they created an agenda focused on other tasks. This camp may work fine for some families but we felt duped.

Lunch is with all campers on site (not just bikers) and they sit wherever and watch someone do some kind of a show / "magic". To me, this feels like a missed opportunity to again build relationships amongst the respective camp attendees.

While feedback was provided to TE staff, I honestly don’t think it will go too far. Some seem nice enough but it candidly felt as if it was lip service / an opportunity for me purely to share. I expect they are going to march forward with their normal approach.

We...