1 in 2 Children in Washington Are Missing Out on Summer Camps and Programming

According to a recent report from Afterschool Alliance, half of the children in the United States are missing out on structured summer learning programs. The survey of more than 30,000 parents showed that only 12 million of 24.6 million kids who could benefit from such programs are enrolled. According to the report, roughly 1-in-2 of Washington’s 543,464 children whose parents want them involved in such programs are unable to attend. Program cost is among the factors keeping kids from accessing these programs. 

With schools closing their doors for the summer season, parents begin to stress that their children will engage in more screen time and less exercise. Some worry that their child will forget everything they just learned in the classroom. Others will ponder where their kids will go while they are at work. To alleviate these worries, Washington offers an abundance of summer camps and programs, yet for many, they are out of reach.

“Finding affordable summer programs for their children is one of the greatest challenges many working families face,” says Afterschool Alliance Executive Director, Jodi Grant. “Too often, especially for low- and middle-income families, that challenge is impossible to meet. Parents need to stay in their jobs to provide for their families, but they can’t find affordable summer programs. So instead of being active, engaging with peers and caring adults, and learning new skills over the summer, their children may be unsupervised, on screens, at risk, and in some cases without healthy food during the summer months. We can and must do better by creating more quality summer programs, which keep kids safe, engaged, and learning while giving working families peace of mind.”  

Program satisfaction and safety

Ask any kid what they would like in a summer program and they’ll probably say one that is fun and doesn’t feel like school. That makes sense; it is summer vacation after all. 

In 2024, 97 percent of Washington parents whose children attended a summer program said that they were satisfied with the program. Afterschool Alliance says that the top five most important things when choosing these programs are:

1. A safe environment
2. A knowledgeable and caring staff
3. Opportunities to interact with peers and build social skills
4. Opportunities to develop positive relationships with other kids in the program
5. Finding support for their children’s mental health and well-being

Potential setbacks and solutions

Despite the benefits of these programs, there are roadblocks that prevent children from attending summer programs for many families in Washington. According to the report:

• 44 percent say that affordability it the top challenge for them
• 21 percent say that accessibility is also a factor
• 13 percent say that it is difficult to find suitable summer programs.
• 12 percent say that these types of programs simply are not available in their community

The roadmap to accessibility includes many workable solutions. While regular tuition prices for summer camps and programs can be prohibitive for many families, many offer help in the form of discounts, scholarships or financial assistance for families who qualify, or based on residency. 

“Knowing that the program is beneficial for families, we took the step to lower the cost of our summer camp program this year by reducing the fee by $75 a week,” says Natasha Ryan, public information officer for the City of Edmonds. “Because of this, we’ve seen a boost in enrollment.” The City of Edmonds has been running summer day camps, serving kids in grades K–4, for over 50 years. 

A number of other cities and organizations offer volunteer-run day camps which help keep costs low. It’s worth nothing that just because a camp might be inexpensive doesn’t mean that your kids won’t receive responsible care. 

Finding affordable area programs

Parents might be surprised to learn of the many affordable summer camp options that are out there. But finding one often requires time to investigate local availability. To help with the search, I’ve compiled a list of summer camps and programs that might fit the bill, depending on your circumstances. 

• Boys & Girls Clubs: Offering summer day camps in King, South Sound and Snohomish County. No child will be turned away for economic reasons.
• The Y summer camps: The YMCA’s listings of camps and programs is extensive. Scholarships and financial assistance available.
• Scouting America day camps: Formerly Boy Scouts, Scouting America day camps are open to all genders and non-scouting families.
• Girl Scouts: Girl Scouts offers camps at Camp River Ranch in Carnation as well as local volunteer-led day camps. An annual membership fee is required, but children can attend right away.
• Sylvan Learning STEM camps: Sylvan Learning offers robotics camps and engineering camps for kids in grades 1–6. While pricing varies, STEM and academic camps fees are generally $200.
• PCC Kids’ cooking camps: Camps available in Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Columbia City, Edmonds, Green Lake Village, Issaquah and Redmond
• Skyhawks Sports: These sports camps include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, field hockey, flag football, flag rugby, golf, lacrosse, pickleball, soccer, tennis, track & field, volleyball and more.
• Camp Invention: National Inventors Hall of Fame courses.
• Nike Soccer camps: Sports camps that focus on soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball, football and golf.
• Camp Arnold day camp: Owned by the Salvation Army, this camp starts at $25 per week. There is an additional savings of $50 per child for families that qualify under USDA income guidelines. They also offer sliding scale pricing.
• Camp Kindness Counts, Free 4-day camp in August.
• Camp Lucy: Free 10-day learn-to-row camps for girls, inclusive of non-binary, trans and gender non-conforming youth. 
• Seattle JazzED: Sliding scale rates available for the summer music camps.

Finding summer programs grants in Washington

Need more help? Giboo is a great place to start. The website lists 34 grants available for summer programs in Washington state. Use it to review grants and eligibility to receive grants, application requirements, contact information, and deadlines.