Our 5 year old daughter has LOVED her week at Headfirst (Multi-Sport, St. Albans). I'm writing this review because I had some concerns after reading other comments - but I think for most children Headfirst would probably be a great experience. It is an investment, but not out of line with other options in major East Coast cities. We are visiting DC from out of town and were all anxious before the first day, but the week at camp has exceeded our expectations. Other kids have been great and every interaction we've had with the counselors/coaches has been very positive. Our daughter has looked forward to camp every morning and informed me last night that she didn't want to go home because she "didn't want to leave" her camp. It's definitely a bigger camp, so that is a consideration if your child would benefit from a lower staff:child ratio. The counselors are on the younger side, but for us - this was a plus because the energy was high and infectious. read more

This is the second year in a row my 5 year old attends this camp and I couldn't agree more with Jimmy's comment here - this camp is ridiculous. If your kid "doesn't listen" they'll call you constantly to notify you about really unserious stuff. My son has been to a gazillion different camps and attended daycare/school since he was a baby and he's NEVER gotten in trouble other than at Headfirst. Yesterday they even kept him in the "office" for the entire afternoon. Over what? Unclear. I will never be sending him there again. read more

Want to do a plug for Headfirst Camp at Mater Dei school in the winter for those who are trying to figure out what do for camp this summer! Last year was our first year doing camp for our rising 1st grader. I looked at a lot of options for an all-around camp and so glad we chose this one! We found enthusiastic counselors, well run pick up/drop off, swimming lessons (swimming skills much improved!), handled extreme heat days well, awesome arts and crafts and STEM projects, and fun after-care. My kid had a great time and wants to go back! We will definitely be signing up again this summer. read more

This DC camp on Catholic's campus is not worth it. You may as well light your money on fire and take the summer off from work for a staycation. If your 5 or 6 year old does not" listen" to the high school counselors they will send them home. It's hard not being listened to. As a parent, I get it. They don't listen to every request I make of them. But I have to work during the day and am paying WAY TOO much for you to watch my kids while they play slip and slid and dodge ball to have to get calls multiple times a week to tell me this or pick them up early. In short, unless your child is a perfect listener, just run away from this camp. Take a vacation and call it good read more

DO NOT ENROLL YOUR CHILD/CHILDREN WITH THEM. I wish I had dug a lot deeper before enrolling our 5-year-old. This camp is way overpriced for the services they offer. In addition, we have been trying to cancel our daughter's camp which is scheduled 7 weeks out due to the pandemic and they have been giving us the run around for the last several days. Our daughter has a preexisting condition that puts her at high risk during this pandemic and she is not able to attend this camp. Matt, one of the sales guys verbally promised to give us a full refund but said we would have to wait almost 3 months when we refused and asked for a refund now they went back to offering excuses and giving us a runaround. Per their cancelation policy, the refund request has to be submitted prior to June 1st which we have done yet we have yet to receive anything. Instead, they keep wanting to have phone discussions to encourage us to wait until August. DO NOT ENROLL YOUR CHILD. read more

I put my daughter in this camp in Washington DC (they operate in other places), but unfortunately had to pull her out after just 3 days. She is only 4 years old, and still takes naps of an hour to an hour and a half in length (which is normal at her school). Unfortunately, the camp only allows her (and others) to nap for a maximum of a half hour during the day. So she has been coming home at night totally exhausted and irritable, and she did not want to go back. I called the camp and asked if they can allow her to sleep for a hour, which is totally developmentally appropriate at this age. However, they said that they a tight schedule to keep and could not make an accommodation for my daughter. Nor could they refund me any money for the remainder of the week. We forced her to go on the bus today, but we are pulling her out for the rest of the week irrespective of the money. I also called an education expert in my area, who was amazed that any camp would not let kids of this tender age sleep for at least an hour; she highlighted that kids at new camps especially tend to get tired out faster and really need sufficient rest. It is surprising that a camp that is about twice as expensive as others has not bothered to find out what is age-appropriate. I cannot in good faith recommend this camp, particularly for this young age group. Also, I have cancelled for another week 6 weeks out, and they refused to make any accommodation for their cancellation policy, and will keep 25% of my money. Most other camps allow a full return, minus a small admin fee, up to 2 weeks in advance. It is really so sad that they are keeping to a very strict policy in spite of the situation. Needless to say, I will do what is best for my daughter and that means not returning to Headfirst. read more

This was our first year enrolling our child to headfirst (DC location). My younger son had an ok time in the beginning. During the last week, we decided to enroll our other son (who is on the autism spectrum). I informed them that he has mild to moderate ASD and would need some repeating of instructions and requires time to acclimate to routines. They assured me that he would be ok. He was enrolled for 5 days. Day 1, I received a call and it seemed like they were trying to accommodate him as they were asking about what works for him. I was happy to help and pleased by what seemed like an effort to be an inclusive environment. Day 2, they called me and said they would like him to discontinue and are willing to give me my money back. As this is now the middle of the week and I had already forfeited a spot at another camp that would have been happy to take him, my husband and I had to figure out how to have him while still juggling work. MEANWHILE, my younger son who is typically developing and is the kindest kid was being harassed by another camper. I first told him to tell a counselor. He did and he told me they did nothing. The girl who was harassing him progressed to physically trying to hit /poke with objects. At this point, I spoke to a counselor myself. I was told they'll keep an eye on him. Next, this girl is still harassing my son, this time punching him in the back and somehow no one is seeing this. My son, who likes to keep the peace is too shy/afraid to say something and of course why would he? When he did say something, they did NOTHING. I just hope any parent, especially those with kids that are developing differently, take this in because the irony was definitely not lost on me. My son, who is on the spectrum, was quick to get a call to his mom on day one of not behaving accordingly (which did not including hitting or being mean to impressionable children). He was simply wanting some space at times and required some extra direction. By Day two, he was kicked out. MEANWHILE, this girl who is harassing my other son, gets to stay, her parents do not get a call and no one even mentions anything to the girl about her behavior. And as parents we have to deal with the hurt feelings of a child who doesn't understand why he can't go back to summer camp with his brother any more and a four year-old brother who says every morning for the rest of the week, "mommy, I wish he was coming with me". I hope this serves as a learning opportunity to both Headfirst and anyone reading this as to the double standard, excluding practices, and unempathetic environments society sets for kids who are developing differently. I will definitely be sharing my experience with my school mom groups of both my children as well as mom friends. I hope this informs you, the reader, as to the culture of the program. read more

Need to post my experience so other parents can beware. In short: I sent my 3 year-old son to the EHS campus in alexandria for the summer including before and after extended care. I pulled him out after just 2 days. --their policy is to not enter the bathrooms at any time. This included giving 'verbal direction' to my 3-yr old child to clean himself up after pooping on the urinal (my husband had been deployed during his potty training so he has never seen a urinal). --my 3 year-old cannot reach the faucets in the bathroom. No 'verbal direction' can help him to wash his hands. --i was asked if my child spoke english. He is half korean and half caucasian. Yes, he was born in the US and he speaks English, Spanish, and Korean. I was told that he didnt speak during his 2 days there. My kid doesnt shut up. If he wasnt talking there is something seriously wrong with the environment. --I was called at 4pm to inform me about concerns for my childs 'behavior' including the fact the he had FALLEN INTO THE POOL at some point earlier that morning. 'But dont worry, there were no tears, we have lots of people trained for situations like these.' --My child was issued a 'strike' for his 'behavior' in that he was not following with the group. He is 3. He was found in a random bathroom on the second day. No other information provided to me about the incident. --First day of camp, both of the supervisors were 'out' in the afternoon. No one was supervising the 16 year-old counselors. read more

This is our son's fourth year of going to this camp (DC location) and we love this camp! Even having gone through speech delay and being sensory sensitive the first couple of years, they were always accommodating with having our therapists going in and always kept us posted. This year, our son was excited to go to camp everyday. He loves his counselors and we always feel safe sending him here. Thanks Headfirst for another fun summer! read more

This review about the camp at the DC location. The reason that I gave it one star and I am NOT planning to send my child to back in the future is that the camp did not meet the very basic line as a care taker for the summer, which is the safety of children. I registered him for four weeks camp, the first three weeks went smoothly. However, on Wed. July 17, 2019, my son, who is 6 years old, came home complaining that a kid constantly bothered him at the camp and hit him at some point. We told him to keep away from that child. And next day, when dropping him off, my husband talked with the manager expressing our concerns and asking him to keep an eye on this issue. At the end of the day, I received an email from the camp, telling me that they had been watchful and the day went by well. I was happy and relieved. Unfortunately, today, when I picked my child up and asked about his day. He showed me the bandage on his arm and told me that the same kid scratched him. I was upset for two main reasons. First, for every parent, kids' safety is our priority. No one would be happy when you realize your kid gets hit and scratched at the camp when you thought you were sending him to a decent one. Second, throughout the whole day today, no body from Headfirst called me or emailed me about the incident until I found it out myself. When we got home and I checked the wound, it was one and half inched long, plus the incident happened two days ago, this is highly unlikely to be an accident as the camp told me later on the phone. The manager we talked with the day before called me quickly and apologized. I gave him some credits for his quick response, however, as a whole, the way the camp managed the issue is lacking and did not meet the basic line. We will vote with our feet and choose a different camp next year. I hope my review will be useful in either helping you make your choices about summer camps or being proactive if similar incident happened with your child in Headfirst. read more

This was our first year at EHS site for Headfirst. Gabby is our favorite counselor. They have been very flexible when I goofed up when I messed up our schedules for the week or asked to change some weeks around since we would be out of town. They fix it and they fix it fast. They respond quickly to requests and/or questions. The location is great (Episcopal HS) since they have their own pool and other fun amenities. We are torn about whether or not we will be back next year. My kids started out loving this camp. But as the summer has gone by, I am getting more push back from them. They LOATHE extended care. There is nothing for them to do (their words). This week (7/23 - 27) they started to comment on the mean counselor and how she monitors what they eat for lunch and telling them if they bring their own lunch or snacks, they are not allowed to have sugar. I am the parent, no one else, so if that is really happening, I am not pleased. So in a nutshell - the camps are good. Before and aftercare needs work according to my kids and the only person that should be telling my kids what to eat is me. read more