Rocklin Academy Charter School will move an annual field trip from a Christian camp retreat to a secular location in the future.
A concerned parent reported that Rocklin Academy Gateway takes an annual field trip to Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds (ARCG), an evangelical retreat. ARCG’s mission is to provide a place “where our guests meet the Creator in his Creation,” according to the camp director in a promotional video.
FFRF Associate Counsel Elizabeth Cavell wrote to the district, outlining the plethora of the religious entanglements associated with taking students to this camp.
The school has put a plan in place to ensure this year’s trip does not include any religious proselytization, including vetting the curriculum and never allowing camp staff to be alone with students without school chaperones present. Next year’s trip will then be moved to a secular location.
