MASHPEE – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Education Department has announced that it will not be offering school-vacation camps or summer camps.
The Tribal Education Department said there was a careful review of their current staffing and program responsibilities, and that the resulting decision “was not made lightly”.
At present, the tribe says it does not have the capacity to recruit, appropriately train, and develop the staff required to operate safe, high-quality, culturally grounded camp programming. “To ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of our children, we must maintain standards that we cannot presently meet with our available personnel and resources.”
The statement released earlier this month also said:
“We know that camp programs have been important to many families. We are committed to continuing core educational services and to building long-term capacity so that future programming can be strong, sustainable, and aligned with the needs of our Tribal community. It is our expectation that a more comprehensive and holistic approach to operating camps, for children, will be at the forefront of our planning in 2026.
Until that time, families are encouraged to prepare and arrange childcare for all school vacation periods and summer 2026. This is not a funding issue so much as a human resource issue. For those who have questions or need assistance exploring potential resources, please contact the Education Director at (508) 477-0208 Ext. 149.”
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About Jim McCabe
