CAMP EDMO

My 5yo is VERY fired up about earning Space Mo (someday) and has had such an amazing time at the Cupertino Park. She’s grown so much, most of all in her confidence and emotional maturity. I couldn’t have picked a better option for her to spend 4 weeks of her summer. Now 6 years old, our daughter simply cannot wait to try Camp Edmo this coming summer and to do the park program again in August.

We were extremely dissatisfied with Edmo in the Park in the Cupertino hills location last summer. In fact, I wrote to the organization last year and never received a response. I am reposting excerpts of my email to them:
I believe the organization is extremely poor with communication, especially with sending welcome packets. Both this year and last year, we did not receive any information over the mail nor email regarding the camp theme, or any preparatory information. We had to actively seek this information on the Edmo website. As a matter of fact, we also referred a family to Edmo based on last year’s experience and not only did we not get a referral credit, but they also did not get a welcome package. They had to get the information from us, and I had to refer them to the Edmo website. Here are a list of things that were dissatisfactory:
Lack of communication — this includes no introductory packet provided, or any information about the counselors, their age, experience, etc. In addition, a big part of why we signed our daughter up for Edmo this year was our expectation that Tegan would be there. On the first day of camp, we were informed that Tegan had resigned, replaced with a younger, more inexperienced camp director, Chelsea. We never got any notification of this, nor her bio. Is she even a college graduate? We would expect a minimum of a college graduate, especially with the price we are paying for this camp. In addition, Tegan’s contact info is still on the Edmo website.
Unprofessional and seemingly inexperienced staff — we paid for extended care, both in the am and pm, which begins at 8am in the morning. Pretty much on a regular basis, the tables were not set up by 8. On one morning, I arrived at 7:56 to see all the camp counselor including the camp director, Chelsea, sitting on the picnic tables, socializing. When I arrived, Chelsea walked up, looked at her watch with an unhappy look, and says to me, «Well, you’re four minutes early. Are you in a hurry? I have to get the clip boards.» When I either arrived in the morning to drop off or do the pick up, all the counselors were always sitting on the table and socializing. In the afternoon during pick up, the kids were off playing amongst themselves, while the counserlors were socializing. I doubt they would have noticed if a child wondered away.
Daily activities — based on last year’s experience, we expected that the kids would go on a nature hike everyday. That was also part of why we chose Edmo. However, there were at least three days that I was aware of out of the two weeks we had our daughter at Edmo that they did not go on any walks. It was hard to tell what activities were done. In the previous year, she would come home singing camp songs. This year, I heard nothing, only that Edmo was «boring.» This was shocking to me as she never complains about being bored.
Anyhow, that pretty much sums up last summer’s camp experience. We are trying out Galileo so hopefully we will have a more positive experience, or at least deal with an organization that cares. It’s funny how they are able to collect your money so efficiently but cannot handle customer service!