Did you know that schools in the Delaware Valley sometimes offer their own specialized day camp programs for both current and non-matriculated students who live nearby? School-affiliated camps offer everything from general day camps that keep your kids active and outdoors to special enrichment camps for music, science, sports or the arts.
Here are some ways that school day camps might differ from regular day camps.
Campus Structure and Resources
School-affiliated camps benefit from using their own campus and resources beyond what regular day camps may offer. This way, all kids get to experience the advantages of a beautiful campus and competitive enrichment programs. One resource that schools offer that may not be available at other camps is its faculty and staff.
“Our program is led by professional, certified, year-round Westtown employees to ensure a quality program consistent with Westtown’s mission of nurturing the growth of every child,” according to Westtown School, a K-12 school in West Chester. The school’s Westtown Summer Camp offers outdoor adventure and counselor-in-training programs.
As accredited institutions, schools can foster trust with parents that the staff they provide are certified and up to the schools’ standard of instruction.
A Familiar Environment
Another benefit to a camp run by a local school is the opportunity for parents (and kids) to get to know the school environment over the summer before enrolling — or to become more familiar with a school environment in general if a child is getting ready to go to school for the first time or transition from, say, elementary to middle school or middle to high school.
Chesterbrook Academy, a school for early learners, offers day camps at 13 of its Delaware Valley locations. Apeksha Anand Thambu, the senior enrollment director for Chesterbrook’s parent company, Spring Education Group, describes the school’s summer camp as “more of a stepping stone, like an introduction to the school.”
“Helpful for first-time parents and families not familiar with the school,” Thambu says. “Sometimes field trips are included, which the students really enjoy.”
Academic Enrichment
Though many different types of camps offer academic enrichment over the summer, it goes without saying that camps run by local schools will always ensure kids avoid the summer slide.
Because schools are structured to support many academic disciplines throughout the year, chances are that one of them will have the program you are looking for.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s Summerside Camps in Philly include more than 45 camps in subjects like science, textiles, robotics and performing arts, and campers have full access to its 62-acre campus with fields, gyms, kitchens, labs, studios and more.
Some camps may even help kids prepare for programs they will encounter at school in the fall, like the School District of Philadelphia’s CTE Summer Camp, which preps students entering sixth through eighth grades for a career and technical education (CTE) program in high school.
Camps like the Agnes Irwin School’s Summer at AIS in Rosemont even give students the opportunity to earn special certifications like a Safe Sitter babysitting certification for middle schoolers.
Many enrollment applications open at this time of year, even while summer might still feel far away. Find more local camps to explore at metrokids.com/campdirectory.
