Advancement
What is Advancement?
Advancement is the process by which youth members of the Boy Scouts of America progress from rank to rank in the Scouting program. Advancement is simply a means to an end, not an end in itself. Everything done to advance and earn these ranks, from joining until leaving the program, should be designed to help the young person have an exciting and meaningful experience.
Education and fun are functions of the Scouting movement, providing the basis of the advancement program. Advancement in the Boy Scouts of America emphasizes the growth a young person experiences as a result of participation in unit programs.
The Boy Scout advancement process seems, to a new Scout, like a pretty straight-forward process. The Scout`s handbook details the things to be done. The Scout does them, gets them signed off, and gets recognized for his achievements.
A new adult unit leader may find the process a bit more intimidating, as there are few written guidelines to explain the adult Scouter`s responsibility for advancement in the unit. Indeed, advancement on the unit level involves all of the adults in one aspect or another. Each adult has a responsibility, however, indirect to insure that the each boy advances.
Advancement Resources
Advancement Educational Presentations
Eagle Scout
EAGLE SCOUT ADVANCEMENT INFORMATION
Eagle Scout Applicants ~ Eagle Scout Rank Application
Eagle Scout ~ Project Workbook
Contacts for Possible ~ Eagle_Project_Contacts
Check out these successful Eagle Projects for ideas for your ~ Eagle Project Ideas
Life to Eagle ~ Life to Eagle Process
Addresses for Eagle Scouts to write to for Congratulatory Letters.
Eagle Scouts, you can contact the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. They will come to your Eagle COH Ceremony in Revolutionary regalia and present a certificate. Contact William (Bill) Aurand, the Scouting Liaison for the Tucson Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, e-mail wraurand1@cox.net (new email address)
The Sons of the American Revolution also offer an Eagle Scout Essay Scholarship Contest, open to all Eagles. See the Arizona Society webpage at: http://www.azssar.org/state/eagle.html. This is currently a lightly used contest currently so the odds of winning significant Cash Awards at the State and National level are good. The winner is invited to present their essay at a Chapter or State meeting as a guest of the local SAR chapter. It is open to all Eagle Scouts who are currently registered in an active unit and have not reached their 19th birthday during the year of application. (The application year is the calendar year, 01 Jan. to 31 Dec.) The year that Eagle was awarded is not restricted. College plans do not need to be completed in order to receive the cash scholarship. Three cash scholarship awards are given: As the National First Place winner – $10,000.00; Runner-up – $6,000.00; 2nd runner-up – $4,000.00. You may apply more than one year if you meet the age requirements but no more than $10,000.00 total may be granted to any one Eagle Scout. All participants will receive a special SAR Eagle Scout patch. SAR Chapter prizes will vary by chapter (typically $100). The Arizona State SAR first prize is $200 and their submission will be entered in the national contest. Second prize is $100. The application is here: Arthur M. & Berdena King Eagle Scout Scholarship Rules and forms can be found HERE
To schedule an Eagle Board of Review, contact the Council Registrar ~ Audrone Tarleton, 520-750-0385 ext 11, E-Mail
For any questions about Eagle Projects, boards of review, etc., please check our your respective District Advancement Page for more information.
Scholarship Links:
http://www.sar.org/node/39 Sons of the American Revolution
http://nesa.org/scholarships NESA Scholarship Page
http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/scholarships.aspx BSA Eagle Scout Scholarships
MB Counselor
Here is a LINK to the Merit Badge Registration this is a fillable PDF that can be filled out, electronically signed then emailed to CatalinaCouncilAdvancement@gmail.com
Merit Badge Counselor Training is available at: My.Scouting . All Merit Badge Counselors are requested to go through this training and then take a quiz to maintain their qualification.
All Merit Badge Counselors MUST have current BSA Youth Protection Training.
- Please check that your training is current by logging on to My.Scouting
- The training is only 30 minutes and is available at the same site: My.Scouting
- You can also check by contacting the Council Registrar: Audrone Tarleton, 520-750-0385, or email at Audrone@catalinacouncil.org
Eagle Scout Extension
Thank you to Bryan on Scouting for providing this information. the link to this same info as well as the comments can be reached here.
A young person doesn’t have to become an Eagle Scout to have a life-changing experience in Scouting.
But you can bet some Scouts in your troop will set their sights on that shiny Eagle medal.
And chances are some of those Eagle hopefuls will join your Scouts BSA troop this year as 16- or 17-year-olds — meaning they traditionally might not have enough time to earn Eagle before their 18th birthday. (Completing the Eagle requirements takes at least 19 to 20 months.)
That’s less-than-ideal timing for the 16- or 17-year-old girls who were previously not eligible to join Scouts BSA — the Boy Scouts of America program previously known as Boy Scouting.
(And join they have. In less than three months since Scouts BSA launched on Feb. 1, 2019, more than 15,000 girls have registered in 2,049 Scouts BSA troops across the country!)
It’s also not ideal for the 16- or 17-year-old boys who registered in a Scouts BSA troop on or after Feb. 1, 2019. Perhaps some boys waited to join until their sisters were eligible to join their own troop.
All of that explains why the BSA’s volunteer-led National Executive Committee is offering a one-time, limited exception to the BSA’s age requirements for the Eagle Scout award. (We first announced this move on the blog in January. We also shared some insight into the rationale behind the decision.)
Those who apply for the extension will have just 24 months from the initial date of registration to complete all requirements for the Eagle Scout award.
Do you have a young person who is asking for this extension? Here’s the process.
How a Scout requests this limited, one-time Eagle Scout extension
1. The Scout informs an adult leader of his or her request.
Like everything in Scouts BSA, this process is youth-led.
The Scout, who is a new member of a Scouts BSA troop, informs one or more of the following adults that he or she is requesting an extension:
- Scoutmaster
- Unit committee chair
- Chartered organization representative
- Unit advancement chair
- District advancement chair
2. The adult leader checks the eligibility requirements.
- To be eligible, the young man or young woman must be at least 16 but not yet 18 on Feb. 1, 2019.
- What about those under 16 on Feb. 1, 2019? They’ll have adequate time to earn their Eagle before turning 18 and don’t need an extension.
- What about those over 18 on Feb. 1, 2019? They’re considered adults and aren’t eligible to join Scouts BSA. (But should absolutely join Venturing or Sea Scouts!)
- Also, to be eligible, the young man or young woman must register as a member of Scouts BSA on or before Dec. 31, 2019. He or she must also make the request for an extension by Dec. 31, 2019.
- In the interest of fairness, these temporary transition rules apply to all youth joining Scouts BSA during 2019 — both girls and first-time-joining boys.
- Boys who were members of a Boy Scout troop before Feb. 1, 2019, aren’t considered first-time-joining boys and therefore are not eligible for the extension.
3. The adult leader logs into my.Scouting to make the request.
The adult leader will log into his or her My.Scouting account, select the appropriate unit (if they are affiliated with more than one unit), navigate to the troop roster and select the youth’s member profile.
Once there, the unit leader will click the edit profile icon to see where the extension request can be selected.
The amount of time a Scout will be granted for the Eagle extension will be based on the Scout’s joining date and date of birth.
4. The BSA notifies the Scout by email.
The BSA will inform the Scout by email of how long he or she will receive for an extension. The maximum amount of extension time will be 24 months.
The Scout’s parent, unit leader and the local council Scout executive will be copied on the email.
5. The Scout continues his or her progress toward Eagle.
The Scout continues working toward Eagle, following the standard process and completing the requirements as written in the Guide to Advancement.
6. The Eagle board of review is scheduled after the OK from the council and National Service Center.
Boards of review must not occur until after the local council and the National Service Center have verified the Scout’s Eagle application.
For the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts, all boards of review will take place between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2020. All boards of review for this inaugural class will be dated Oct. 31, 2020.
That means any girl in this inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts will have that date as the date she officially earned Scouting’s highest honor.
Note: This inaugural class is not just for girls who have requested and been granted the extension. This class is open to any girl who passes her board of review between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2020, and has submitted her postmarked Eagle application to the National Service Center no later than Nov. 2, 2020. That means, for example, that a 15-year-old girl who completes the requirements and passes her board of review by Oct. 31, 2020, will be included in the inaugural class.
7. The Scout waits for his or her Eagle credentials.
Waiting’s tough, but these young people earned it.
Eagle credentials will continue to be sent by mail.
For female Eagle Scouts in the inaugural Eagle class, these credentials, which include the Eagle certificate and wallet card, will be mailed starting December 2020.
