Amid Local Childcare Shortage, Summer Camp Registration Hottest Ticket In Town

The region’s childcare shortage is not only causing a backlog at local daycares: It’s also causing demand to soar at local summer camps, with parents lining up at 4am to snag a coveted spot during registration. While some camps are expanding to meet the need – with groups like Norte and Interlochen Center for the Arts adding new day camp options – staffing shortages remain as much a hurdle for camps as other childcare programs.

The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA has experienced steady growth in its Summer Day Camp program over the last decade. However, demand has seen an “extreme uptick” in the last two years, according to Senior Program Director Thomas Graber. In early years, parents could register without much difficulty, with 75-100 kids participating annually. Five years ago, the Y began offering early access to members; even then, spaces remained open for non-members. But in 2021 and 2022, fierce competition for the 190 camp spaces the Y is licensed to offer caused parents to line up outside in the early morning hours to register, with even members unable to snag a slot.

“Last year we had 40 to 50 parents lined up at 5:30am, and we were mostly sold out by 10am,” says Graber. “This year, we had people lining up at 4am, with our doors opening at 5:30am. We had people who got in line at 5:30am who didn’t get in.” The Y uses in-person versus online registration to ensure those without Internet access can still register and to prevent crashes or user errors, according to Director of Youth Sports and Activities Cailin Miller.

Miller and Graber attribute the demand to several factors. Growing word-of-mouth and remaining open during the pandemic when other camps closed helped the program “gain a lot of trust” with parents, Graber says. The local childcare shortage is also a “big contributing factor,” Miller says. “There are a lot of working parents who need care, and there aren’t a lot of options. We’re able to provide that in the summer.” The Y camp – which starts at $140/week for members and goes up to $190/week for non-members – offers multiple grade and theme options and can host campers from 7:30am-5:30pm Monday-Friday. 

While the Y might consider expanding in the future, doing so requires more staff – a significant challenge in the childcare field. “We’d rather excel in what we do than spread ourselves thin,” says Graber. “Getting bodies is one thing, but getting the right bodies is another.” Still, Graber empathizes with parents competing for camp spaces. “It’s such a tough gig when you get to know the parents and have to tell them they don’t have a space,” he says. “It’s the worst feeling. But we have to stay compliant with licensing and fill the community need as best we can.”

Other camps are also working to meet surging community demand. Nonprofit cycling group Norte offered 704 summer camping spots across northern Michigan in 2021, filling 611 of those slots, according to Advocacy and Communications Director Gary Howe. Norte – which opens its summer camp registration today (Wednesday) at 6pm – expects similar numbers this year, but with an expanded programming slate. In addition to Summer Bike Camp – a half-day program offered to grades 1-8 in Elk Rapids, Glen Arbor, Suttons Bay, and Traverse City for $155/week – Norte will offer a new full-day camp for grades 3-5 the weeks of July 11 and August 7 in TC. The $235 pilot program will run Monday–Thursday from 9 am–3 pm and “provide more time on the bike and new opportunities with partner organizations, like the climbing gym ELEV8,” according to Norte. ShredVenture, a mountain bike experience for grades 7-10, will also expand this year, taking place the weeks of June 27 and July 25. Norte provides access to families who often “miss opportunities like summer camps,” according to Howe, reserving 66 spots for Single MOMM, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Child and Family Services, The Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency, and Women's Resource Center. Norte also offers transportation services so half-day campers can attend other local camps in the afternoon.

Beginning in June, Interlochen Center for the Arts is launching a new summer day camp called Arts Discovery Day Camp aimed at giving “local children ages 7-12 the chance to experience the magic of an Interlochen summer at a reduced cost.” Weekly sessions – each with a different theme – will be offered June 20-August 5 from Monday-Friday at a cost of $325/week, with an add-on option of early/after-hours care. Students will work with Interlochen’s summer arts faculty and experience music, dance, and theatre dress rehearsals and performances on the main campus. The program director is “an elementary educator in the arts with experience in recreational and arts camp settings,” according to Interlochen Director of Media Relations and Communications Simone Silverbush. The day camp can accommodate 40-50 students weekly; Silverbush says the program still has availability, “but spaces are going quickly.”

Numerous other arts organizations are also offering camp options this summer. Parallel 45 Theatre will host both a half-day Outdoor Theatre Adventure Camp for grades K-2 ($165) and a full-day Youthquake Jr Adventure Camp for grades 3-6 ($265), as well as the middle and high-school program Youthquake Company ($625). The Old Town Playhouse Young Company will offer a four-week performing arts camp ($160/week) as well as one-week intensive musical theatre camps ($225) this year. Crooked Tree Arts Center, meanwhile, is offering Kids Art Camps in both Traverse City and Petoskey throughout the summer, with themes including Stuffed Animals, Weaving, Printmaking, and Mosaic Art (prices vary based on class). Registration for all of the above camps is open as of this week.

New rules in Michigan limiting group sizes to 36 for child care camps – a different category than day camps – combined with staffing shortages will require Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) to scale back its offerings this summer. The Summer Explorers Club is held weekly June 27-August 19 on Monday-Friday from 7:30am-5:30pm for $180 per week, with each week featuring a different theme. While the program has traditionally hosted preschool-fifth grades across three or four different camps, the preschool option will be eliminated this year and only two camps will be offered, at Cherry Knoll and Willow Hill, for a total 144 students. “We are downsizing our offerings by having a minimum age requirement of five by the first day of camp and enrolling into kindergarten,” says TCAPS Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Ginger Smith. “We are also capping each camp at a slightly lower number this year to accommodate for an expected staffing challenge. However, if staffing presents the opportunity for growth, more applicants will be accepted.”

Though it might not help some families this year, camp organizers repeated one word of advice for parents looking to snag prime summer camp spots: Plan ahead and be prepared to sign up as early as possible. “Our registration will always be open on the first Monday of February,” says Miller of the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. “All our registration information and forms are available online and in advance. It’s first-come, first-served. It’s going to be an early line, but if you can mark it off, it’s just about being prepared and ready to go.”

Photo credit: Norte