| BOARDS OF REVIEW The Advancement Chairperson is in charge of all advancements. The Scout must contact the Advancement Chairperson to schedule a Board of Review. When a Scout has completed all the requirements for a rank, he appears before a board of review composed of members of the troop committee. The purpose of the review is not an examination. Rather it is to determine the Scout's attitude and acceptance of Scouting's ideals; to ensure that the requirements have been met for advancement, to discuss the Scout's experiences in the troop and the troop's program, and to encourage him to keep working towards advancement. A Board of Review may also be held to counsel a Scout about his lack of progress toward advancement. A board cannot retest the Scout, but can ask questions about a particular requirement to make sure the board feels he has actually learned from the requirement. The Scout must bring his Boy Scout Handbook with him. The Scout must be sure to wear his full Class "A" uniform. The Board of Review is not obligated to advance a Scout. A Scout can be deferred advancement if the Board of Review finds he is not ready to be advanced. If the Scout is deferred advancement, a written reason, ideas for improvement and date for another review will be provided to him. If the Scout has completed all the requirements for the rank successfully, had his Scoutmaster Conference and a successful Board of Review, he will be informed that he has achieved the rank he is seeking. When he advances in rank, the new rank dates from the day of passage, even though he may not receive his new rank patch until the next meeting or receive official recognition of his advancement until the next Court of Honor. This means that he can begin working toward his next rank as soon as he passes the last one. EAGLE SCOUT BOARD OF REVIEW Once a Scout has completed all the requirements for the rank of Eagle, the Scout will turn all the applicable information (i.e. application, project write-up, etc.) to the Scoutmaster for review. Once the Scoutmaster reviews the information, he will turn the information over to the Troop Committee Chairperson for another review of the information, and the Scout will receive a troop practice Board of Review. This will enable the Scout to prepare himself for the District Eagle Board of Review. The District Eagle Board of Review is held once a month and is made up of other adults from the district. |
| MERIT BADGES The goal of the merit badge program is to expand a Scout's areas of interest, to explore many fields, help them round out their skills, and perhaps introduces them to subjects that will become lifelong interests and rewarding careers. It also encourages the Scout to meet and work with adults in a chosen subject. A Scout working with a registered merit badge counselor earns merit badges. The Scout is required to contact the counselor to arrange for times and places to meet with the counselor. When the Scout completes the work on the merit badge the counselor will inform the Scoutmaster that the Scout has completed the requirements for that badge. Merit Badges earned will be presented to the Scout during the troop's next meeting. All parents of Troop 287 Scouts are encouraged to become Merit Badge Counselors. Please fill in a Troop Resource Survey and return to the Troop Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator. All new counselors must fill out an Adult BSA application and Merit Badge Counselor form. All counselors are to be renewed annually. The first thing to do when a Scout is ready to start a merit badge is to get from the Scoutmaster a "blue card" (an Application for Merit Badge). Once the Scout has a blue card, he can call a merit badge counselor who can guide him through the requirements, or he can work on his own and then call the Counselor when he is ready for verification. When the Scout has completed all the requirements and had them "signed off" by the authorized merit badge counselor, he gives the card to the Scoutmaster to sign again. After all signatures are on the card, the Scout presents the card to the Troop Advancement Chairperson. The Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator updates a list of merit badge counselors yearly. The list is kept on file in the Troop Library. A listing of Merit Badges (100+ in total count) is available in the Boy Scout Handbook. Troop 287 offers some Merit Badge books through the Troop Librarian. Merit Badge books can be purchased at the Scout Shop or at Lee’s Sporting Goods store. They are also available at the Portage District Library. Scouts must go to a merit badge counselor with a "buddy” (a buddy can be another Scout, a parent, relative or friend). Scouts are not to meet with a counselor alone. It is recommended that a parent should not pass his/her own son on any merit badge requirements. Working with other adults is an intentionally promoted objective of Scouting. Merit Badge work is limited to First Class Scouts and above. Although, Merit Badges such as Swimming and First Aid can be obtained before the Rank of First Class and in special circumstances Merit Badges that are offered to the entire troop. The Troop Advancement Chairperson will do the necessary paperwork to update the troop and district records. The Merit Badge will be awarded at the next troop meeting. |