 High
Meadows was founded by Jody Holden, Jay Dickerson, Mike Drake,
and Bill Crawford in 1973 with the purchase of 40 acres of land
in rural Roswell, Georgia. In an environment emphasizing exploration,
discovery, and multi-age learning, they offered a camp, preschool,
and kindergarten to the children of the North Fulton area. Through
the years, High Meadows has grown into a unique, outstanding,
nationally-accredited educational and recreational environment
serving children in pre-school through 8th grade.
A camp philosophy was developed and is well described by Ham Kimzey,
one of the first counselors:
“High Meadows offers a camper a variety of experiences, each of them pointing
to the goal of self discovery and expansion in an atmosphere of fun. In relaxed
and non-competitive situations, the camper is encouraged to branch out into new
areas to gain confidence and to strive for proficiency in those areas in which
he is already competent. The emphasis is always on personal improvement and the
satisfaction gained therefrom, never on keeping score or bettering someone else.
Anyone who has seen the light in a child’s eyes as he scores his first
bullseye on the archery range, or pulls his first print from the developing solution
in the darkroom, or dunks his head under the water in the pool for the first
time, will be able to understand this philosophy. In a day when kids enter academic
and athletic competition at such early ages, High Meadows offers an alternative
approach for the summer – competition is confined to the area of self-improvement
and learning, not graded, but viewed as a step toward a child’s self-awareness.”
To ensure this type of experience, High Meadows will:
• Provide an environment for each camper to participate
in both active and quiet “out-of-doors” activities.
• Create a social atmosphere where each camper, regardless of background,
feels love and respect.
•
Engender a sense of adventure during each child’s stay at
camp.
• Teach activity skills in a non-competitive program for each camper
to feel successful.
•
Emphasize the importance of “others,” their feelings
and property.
• Help each camper to learn to respect and value the natural environment.
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