Not many parents can afford to send their kids to Sidwell Friends School, the elite Quaker private school in Tenleytown and Bethesda where President Obama’s daughters attend. But the “presidential prep” did something interesting to open its summer camp to parts of the region with shallower pockets: Sidwell offered camp tuition at a 70 percent discount on Living Social, a D.C. online coupon company.
“Enrollment’s happily way up,” said Ellis Turner, the associate head of schools. While he said filling spots hadn’t been a problem for Sidwell, the 648 purchased coupons certainly didn’t hurt.
Instead of paying $325 for a week of full-day camp, parents could shell out just $150; or they could opt for half-day camp, cutting $250 down to $75.
And it’s not just Sidwell — a number of private camps in the Washington area are using online discounts to bring in last-minute registrations.
Bullis Summer Programs in Potomac offered 50 percent off a week of girls basketball camp, slashed to $110 from $220, and savings on its lacrosse camp as well.
A week of soccer camp at the Soccer Academy in Chantilly or Herndon rung up at $115, a 51 percent discount. At press time, 33 were purchased with three days remaining.
Middleburg Polo Academy in The Plains, Va., also halved the cost of its four-day camp from $650 to $325. “There’s no better way to prepare them for their fate as future kings and queens,” the ad reads.
Maire Griffin, a spokeswoman for Living Social, said 11 camp deals have been offered in D.C. this year, the most successful being Sidwell. Nationally, the website has offered 338 camp deals.
“Normally [customers] make these camp decisions in January or February, but June hits and they realize there’s a gap in the middle of summer, and ask, ‘How are we going to fill the gap for the kids?'” Griffin said. – Lisa Gartner
