All Star I Admissions Policy

(voted October 1996 and amended November 2002)

Preamble

This admissions policy is intended to foster the qualities that have made All Star I strong and to foster the support that will secure the continuation of Star Island as a conference center.

The starting point is an admissions policy that permits All Star I attendance for as many as possible, as often as possible. Without such continuity, conferees cannot develop the commitment that will lead them to devote time, energy, and financial support to All Star I and to the island.

Because All Star I customarily has more applicants than can be admitted, this policy calls for a periodic 1-year break in attendance. The intent is not to accommodate New Shoalers nor Old Shoalers whose All Star I attendance has been irregular. The intent is rather to accommodate those who regularly attend All Star I and whose ties to All Star I and to the island are firmly established.

Such families and individuals are our primary concern. The guidelines that follow seek to ensure and protect their continuity of attendance.

General

Each household, including those in an extended family, will submit a separate application. All applications must be postmarked on or before March 10th.

In deciding who shall be admitted to the conference, we recognize that the proven willingness to share the All Star I experience by taking a voluntary year off on a regular basis is desirable. Taking a year off every four is not mandatory, but is suggested as a flexible average to ensure more equal opportunity to attend for all members of the All Star I community. Lower priority is given to those applicants who have attended the greatest number of years in a row.

When a conference is under-subscribed, and the chairs solicit applications, those people (including those who have offered to take a year off) who are accepted in response to this solicitation will be considered to have taken that year off. We do not want to penalize people who have responded helpfully to a chairs’ request.

Conference attendance as a member of the Children’s Staff or as Children’s Staff Coordinator does not count as either a year of attendance nor as a year of non-attendance. Past Chairs will be admitted the year after they are Chairs without regard to where they are within the 4-year cycle.

The number of applicants may exceed the number who can be accepted. In deciding who shall be admitted in such cases, current Chairs will consider:

• The importance to All Star I of extended, multi-generation families
• The importance of continuity of participation in the children’s program
• The applicant’s service to All Star I in the past
• The applicant’s expected service to the upcoming conference

For the good of the conference and at their discretion, the current Chairs may admit up to fifteen applicants who, for whatever reason, would not otherwise be admitted. A person thus admitted does not begin a new four year cycle. This discretion will be used sparingly.

Wait Listing

When available spaces are filled, remaining applicants will be wait-listed.

Applicants who are wait-listed will be so informed. They will be asked to confirm that they wish to remain on the list.

As cancellations occur, the Chairs will fill vacancies from the wait-list with attention to the best mix of conferees and the best use of available spaces.