DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Summer camps in North Texas are preparing to welcome kids for the summer season after getting the okay from Governor Abbot.
It’s been a hard year for kids and parents, and many of them have been wondering if summer camp would be the latest on a long list of things canceled by COVID-19. Apparently, that's not the case. Governor Abbott says camps can start opening up June 1.
"The thought of possibly not being able to have summer camp was foreign for us," says Linda Paulk, President and CEO of Sky Ranch.
Despite the uncertainty, she says camp staff prepared for the summer season as if kids would be allowed back.
"We always knew that there was the possibility that the government would not allow us to open back up," Paulk says. "But we really went to work in operating on the chance that we were going to be opening."
Paulk says so far, thousands of kids have already signed up for summer camp at Sky Ranch. And if they've been there before ... they should expect to see some changes this year.
Sky Ranch is implementing several new protocols to ensure camper safety, including the usage of paper plates and the implementation of temperature checks. Paulk says core groups will also be smaller.
"We've had to adjust our activity schedule to accommodate smaller groups, we'll be eating in shifts ... but the activities will be the same," she says.
Paulk says camper safety should be the Number 1 priority for every summer camp reopening.
She says she's confident Sky Ranch can open safely. Still, she says kids who are considered "high risk" should stay home this year and come back again next summer.