DC scraps enrollment for ‘Hunger Games’ style summer camps, moves to lottery system
In addition to taxes and preparing plans for spring break, parents know it’s also the time of year to enroll their kids in summer camp. And in D.C., high demand is driving the city to move to a lottery system.
In addition to taxes and preparing plans for spring break, parents know it’s also the time of year to enroll their kids in summer camp. And in D.C., high demand is driving the city to move to a lottery system.
Mayor Muriel Bowser made the announcement Thursday that the district would move to a lottery system because it was fairer and would ease the stress of parents who have shared their frustrations with the city.
“We’re really hearing families in terms of wanting more access, wanting more programs, wanting more slots,” said general councilor Christina Henderson, who compared signing up for DC summer camps to the 2008 dystopian book “The Hunger Games.”
Henderson wasn’t alone in feeling that way. The department was getting tons of emails and phone calls from parents citing impossible odds, like finding 1,400 people in front of them in a virtual queue to seat their child.
“On a site like Turkey Thicket,[for]40 slots you routinely have 600 people competing for those slots at the same time,” said Delano Hunter, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
After saying that in-demand recreation centers will be increasing their hours weekly from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and staying open longer on Saturdays, Bowser also announced the change to the summer camp application process.
“In addition to expanding opening hours, I also tasked DPR with creating a better system, one that is fairer and gives more families a fair chance to get their kids to summer camp. So I’m excited to announce that DPR is moving to a lottery-based system,” she said.
Parents have four weeks from Monday 13 March at noon to register their child
“And it won’t be a frantic struggle to sign up,” Bowser said.
Parents can select three camp preferences and locations per child, per session. After the lottery registration window closes on April 5, the system will randomly select entrants from those who have registered. Residents will be notified by email of Summer Camp placement on April 18, and if selected, payment will be due at that time.
The department is rolling out new summer programs for kids, including camps focused on e-sports, golf, journalism, robotics, lacrosse, gymnastics, and kayaking, to name a few.
The 2023 DPR summer camps available to apply for include:
- Little Explorers Camp (Ages 3 – 5)
- Discovery Camp (Ages 6 – 10)
- Boost Camp (ages 11 – 13): Boost Camps offer special enrichment camps with an academic component. Among the special camps being offered this year are: Rocket Camp, Robotics Camp, E-sports Camp, Journalism Camp, Improv Camp, and CSI.
- Therapeutic Recreation Camps (Ages 3 – 16): Therapeutic Recreation Camps are offered by DPR to children with and without developmental and intellectual disabilities. Therapeutic Recreation Camps will open for registration on March 13, but it will not use the lottery system, as TR participants must undergo an assessment by TR staff before they can be entered.
With all the new programming, Hunter said DPR is seeking additional help.
“During the summer we expand and hire another 700 to 800 employees and we want to grow our team this summer,” he said.
He noted that the city will prioritize hiring DC residents.