Partner With - The Why
Camp Stomping Ground established a forever home in Middle Grove, New York in the spring of 2020. For the first couple years, we focused on summer programming and fixing up the old Boyhaven property. Once we were settled, we knew it was time to make connections in the greater Saratoga and Capital Region communities.
Stomping Ground leadership has trained over 100 other camp directors and youth professionals in how to incorporate Restorative practices into their programing both virtually and in person. We dedicate ourselves to creating engaging options-based programming for children for 8 weeks in the summer time, and we think it’s time to share that philosophy with the other ten months of the year.
Partner With - About You
We’re hoping to work with teachers, youth leaders, youth professionals, and kids themselves who believe that kids should have a say in their own education and their own experiences. We acknowledge that educational systems are often not built to support student voices, and want to create strategies and concrete ways to incorporate student autonomy into classroom culture.
Interested professionals believe that restorative practices and racial justice are integral to building healthy, long-lasting multigenerational communities or are open to learning how these practices shape such communities.
Partner With - About Us
At Stomping Ground, one of our camp sayings is ‘Partner With, not Power Over.’ This refers to when decisions need to be made alongside a cabin of kids, we include kids in the decision-making process instead of deciding for them. Lisa, Laura, and MK want to bring this philosophy to the classroom and other youth spaces.
Lisa Glazer - a former middle school teacher and camper mom- approached us about creating programs directed at schools right around the time that Laura and MK were looking for more footholds in the community. MK is also a former middle school teacher, and is passionate about strengthening the teacher-student bond through play as well as knowledge sharing. Laura is the founder of Stomping Ground, where kids’ autonomy is central to programming. Together, the three of us aim to share our model outside the camp community.
Meet Your Partners
Lisa Glazer
she/her
Lisa is an educator and a community organizer. Lisa has been dually focused on making mathematics accessible, understandable, and enjoyable to her students and working to promote intersectional justice in educational settings. Lisa enjoys playing board games with her family, dancing, singing, hiking, listening to podcasts, and reading novels.
Laura Kriegel, MSW.
she/her
Laura is the founder and Executive Director of Stomping Ground. Laura is focused on building Stomping Ground’s community relationships and making sure we are a thriving, ever-changing space that is prepared to welcome and serve all campers. Laura loves painting, being silly, and walking Wendy around the perimeter of camp every day.
MK Thomason
they/she
MK’s three favorite things are play, learning, and optimization. They believe intersectionality is the undercurrent of all strong communities. MK spent 6 years as a middle school math teacher before joining Stomping Ground as a professional pretender (Program Director). MK enjoys playing old video games and hanging out with their cat.
