FAQS

Ramah Day Camp currently runs five edot (age groups). Campers entering kindergarten are in our Shorashim group. Campers entering 1st grade after camp make up our Anafim group. Campers entering 2nd grade after camp make up our Garinim group. Our rising 3rd grade campers will be in the Etzim edah.  And Nitzanim, our oldest edah, is for campers entering 4th or 5th grade after camp.

Our classic camp program offers three two-week sessions and a final one-week session. Families may register their child(ren) for a single session or any combination of sessions.  Special program tracks, such as our Sha’ar Hebrew Immersion Program, require a longer time commitment.  To learn more, please go to the Dates & Rates page.

Yes! It is important to us that financial concerns not be a reason a child can’t enjoy a summer at Ramah. Please contact us to learn more about the financial aid process or to request an application.

At this time, Ramah Day Camp does not provide lunch; all campers and staff are asked to bring a dairy or pareve nut-free bagged lunch each day. Camp Ramah provides two kosher, healthy snacks each day.

There are some daily programs which are fixtures in each child’s schedule: tefilot, swimming, and experiential Jewish learning. In addition to these Ramah staples, most days campers are offered two 40-minute elective activities (or chugim), which run for a week at a time. This means campers will choose four electives at the start of each two-week session (two electives during the final week of camp) and develop their skills or work on their projects for a week. Campers can choose to concentrate their afternoons in sports or arts chugim, for example, or create a more well-rounded routine to sample all that Ramah has to offer.

Our bus schedule changes slightly from year to year depending on the number of children registered from various locations throughout the greater DC area.  For more information about our bus offerings as well as a list of stops offered during Kayitz 2024, please read our Transportation page.

If you would like to see a bus stop added to a location near you, please contact us! We would love to work with you on expanding our routes.

Ramah Day Camp works with community partners to offer reliable aftercare options throughout the Greater DC area.  In the past, we have offered partnered with MoEd at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase to offer coverage until 6 p.m.  (MoEd is typically closed during our final week of camp.)  Click here for more information.

If you are aware of another partner agency in the Greater DC area who might be interested in working with Ramah to offer an additional aftercare option, please be in touch with us.

Camp Ramah is serviced all summer by a uniformed security guard at its front gate. Our campus is private property and is closed to non-Ramah personnel during camp hours. All staff are clearly identified with a Camp Ramah uniform and name badge, and guests must be announced and cleared through our security guard.

Please see our Daily Backpack Checklist page for details on what to send with your child to camp on a daily basis.

Yes, campers in our general program may complete a Friend Request form and ask to be with another child in their same grade.  Campers in our Sha’ar Hebrew immersion program are grouped together with other children their age registered for this specialty track.

All campers spend their day in programming with other campers their age. Whether or not your child comes to camp knowing lots of other children or no one, our staff works hard to integrate each individual into the group and facilitate new friendships between campers.

Our overall staff to camper ratio is 1:5. Though state regulation require larger ratios, we maintain a 1:5 ratio or smaller during all camp activities, including swimming.

Our campers swim 4 or 5 days per week, with three or four days devoted to swim instruction and one day reserved for free swim.

Our swim instructors, currently provided by Joe Flaherty’s Dolfins Swim School, test each camper individually on the first day of each session to determine their current comfort and skill level in the water. We group our campers into numerous different swim groups.

Our overall staff to camper ratio never exceeds 1:5. This includes our time in the pool. Between our counselors in the pool, swim instructors, and both lifeguards and supervisory staff on the pool deck, that ratio of pool supervision is often much smaller.

Rain is always a possibility. In the event of sporadic rain, we utilize our indoor facilities for adjusted rain programming. In the event of long-term rain or torrential storms, we will bus our whole camp to a nearby school for an adjusted indoor day.