Summer Camps and Programs (K-8)

Every year, there are more applicants to the DHSP Summer Lottery than we have seats available in our programs. Children who do not receive a placement offer are placed in the Waiting Pool.

After families who are offered a placement accept or decline their offer, there will be a second round of placements from the Waiting Pool. You will be notified through email and your Viewpoint account if an opening becomes available for your child. 

If you would no longer like your child to be in the Waiting Pool, you can fill out the Opt out of Waiting Pool Form to remove your child from it.

When your child receives an offer, you must complete the following steps to complete their enrollment and accept your child's seat:

• Complete your child's enrollment in Trax, DHSP's online enrollment system.
  • Your offer letter includes the Trax link and the summer camp sessions for your child's enrollment.
• Enroll your child in the "DHSP Summer" Trax membership and the sessions listed on their offer letter.

You must complete enrollment in Trax within 14 days of receiving your child's offer letter. Once you have completed these steps, your child will be successfully enrolled in their summer program. 

For step-by-step Trax enrollment instructions: www.cambridgema.gov/TraxInstructions. 

1. Sign into through the link in your child's offer letter.
2. In the "History" section under "My Account," review the enrollments. A successful enrollment will display an Activity and a Membership (one activity for each session a child is enrolled): 

• The Activity (icon of a person running) will list the correct session(s) you accepted for your child, the child's program (Summer Camp, KOED Summer Program or CYP Summer Program), and location of the program.  
• The Membership is indicated by "DHSP Summer" and a head and shoulders icon

The "Upcoming" status is the Activity status. This will change to "Active" closer to the session's start date. 

If your child has an enrollment in this section, matching the information in your child's offer letter, your Trax enrollment was successful. If your account displays an enrollment with incorrect information, please contact askdhsp@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-6200. Otherwise, 

Example of a Successful Trax Enrollment

Below is a successful enrollment for a child (Cinderella) who has accepted offered sessions: Session 1, Session 2 and Session 3 at the MLK Summer Camp. There is an Activity (for each session) and Membership listed correctly for this child (highlighted icons). 

Your child's summer camp / program Director will be in touch with additional information prior to the start of your summer session.

A tuition deposit will be due prior to the start of camp.

Send a message through your Viewpoint application or contact us at askdhsp@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-6200. 

The Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School-Time maintains Summer Resource Guides for K-8th Graders.

FindIt Cambridge is another great resource for finding local summer camps and programs. You can also search for childcare, afterschool programs, housing resources, free events and more: www.finditcambridge.org.

You can view sample schedules of DHSP Summer Camps / Programs and CYP Pre-Teen / Middle School Programs

All summer camps and programs include weekly swimming opportunities.

DHSP Summer Camps and Programs provide snacks and a cold lunch option every day. The cold lunch option is pork-free and nut-free.

Families also have the option of providing lunch and snacks for their child.

Session 1 is a single week. All other sessions are a 2-week commitment.

Sessions cannot be split or combined. 

No, DHSP does not offer any half-day options through the DHSP Summer Lottery.

All DHSP Summer Camps and Programs are full-day programs that run from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. daily.  

No. DHSP Summer Camps and Programs end the second Friday in August.   

No. Families are responsible for getting their children to and from camp.

Yes. If you have more than one child living in your household and eligible for the DHSP Summer Lottery, you will use the same application to apply for each of your children.  

In the online application, you will be asked how many children in your household are applying to the DHSP Summer Lottery. If you select more than one child, additional fields will appear where you will fill out specific information for each child. All fields must be filled out for each child for them to be eligible for the lottery. 

After submitting your application, each child’s eligibility and application will be reviewed by DHSP staff.  You will receive separate notifications and letters for each child that you include in your application. 

Siblings receive the same lottery number and are given preference to be placed together. However, sibling placement depends on seat availability at each site for each child’s age group and is not guaranteed.

Yes, but applications submitted after the lottery deadline will be automatically added to the Waiting Pool.  

Changes cannot be made by the applicant once an application has been submitted. Please review your application for accuracy before submitting it.

If you make a critical error on your application (e.g. you spelled your child's name wrong, entered the wrong grade, or accidentally selected the wrong program selection), you can contact DHSP at askdhsp@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-6200 to update the application. Any changes to your application must be  requested before the application deadline.  

You will receive a confirmation email from noreply@opengov.com after submitting your application. If you think you submitted your application, but did not receive a confirmation email, log into your Viewpoint account to see if your application is still in draft form. Follow the application prompts until you complete and submit your application.   

Families who submit their application by the deadline will be notified of a summer placement offer or Waiting Pool placement the last week of March. Families will have 14 days to accept their seat by registering in Trax or to decline their seat.

This information will be provided through a message and notification letter on Viewpoint. Families will receive an email message from noreply@viewpointcloud.com with the subject line “City of Cambridge, MA” letting them know a document has been issued to their Viewpoint account. Log into your Viewpoint account to access the letter details.

Every year, there are more applicants to the DHSP Summer Lottery than we have seats available in our programs. We anticipate a second round of placement offers , after families who received a first-round placement offer decline their seats. You will be notified through email and your Viewpoint account if an opening becomes available for your child.

If you would no longer like your child to be in the Waiting Pool, you can fill out the Opt out of Waiting Pool Form to remove your child from it. 

Every year, there are more applicants than there are available seats. We have learned that the first-come, first-served registration model negatively impacts our ability to equitably serve families, especially families that are historically underserved. We have therefore adjusted our registration process and enrollment model to better prioritize equitable access.

Every year, there are more applicants than there are available seats.

Seat offers depend on how many applications DHSP receives for each grade level, location, and session; your child’s lottery number; and whether your child meets one or more priority / preference factors. 

Each applicant is assigned a randomized lottery number.

A set amount of available “priority” seats at each site and each grade level are designated for a specific group of children with priority income preference (65% or less of Area Median Income (AMI)). Only applicants who have applied through Opengov and meet the criteria of that specific group are entered into the lottery for the priority seats.

Applications are reviewed so that eligible students are considered first for the designated seats. If a match can’t be made, they will be placed in the Waiting Pool for designated seats and entered into the Lottery for the general seats. If the priority seats do not fill in the lottery, they will not be automatically filled with applicants outside of the defined group. This allows a program to ensure the seats remain open for post-lottery applicants who meet the specific group criteria.

We also consider the following preferences:

• Sibling Preference: Siblings of children who are offered a camp seat through the Lottery are prioritized for a seat, but not guaranteed one.
• Equitable Access (Hardship) Preference: Eligible applicants who are experiencing homelessness or are in Department of Children and Families (DCF) custody. 

The Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School-Time maintains Summer Resource Guides for K-8th Graders.

FindIt Cambridge is another great resource for finding local summer camps and programs. You can also search for childcare, afterschool programs, housing resources, free events and more: www.finditcambridge.org.