Leah Fagan was on her computer at 9 a.m. Monday, the minute registration opened for Chicago Park District summer programs, to enroll her child in a popular camp she knew would fill up fast.
Fagan set aside time for the annual stressful registration process, even knowing she would be late for her landscape design job.
About a minute after she snagged a spot for her child, all of the slots were full.
She said the Park District’s registration process works for her, since either she or her husband are usually available to snatch open spots as they pop up for their 9-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son.
But the process doesn’t work for everyone.
“I always think about the families who, for whatever reason, just don’t have flexibility in their schedule, and they’re just kind of out of luck,” Fagan, 40, said.
In recent years, parents have complained that technical difficulties and a shortage of spots prevent them from being able to register their children for Chicago Park District summer camps, which are some of the most affordable programs across the city. This year, some parents say they remain frustrated despite the Park District’s changes.
The Park District has introduced a map feature, a revamped registration landing page and new “high demand” icons to label popular programs that are likely to sell out. The Park District also held webinars to answer questions before registration.
Fagan said she did not notice most of the new features on the Park District website.
“If this isn’t your first time, then you’re probably already aware of which ones sell out really quickly,” Fagan said. “The high demand feature just didn’t really do much either way.”
Vanessa Lee, 42, registered her 7-year-old son for a Park District camp earlier this week, hoping her son could attend the same camp as his friends. It was the first time she went through the Park District’s summer camp registration process in nearly five years.
Things did not go smoothly.
Her computer froze with one second left on the registration countdown, she said. By the time she got the website running again, her son’s preferred camp was full. Now he’s registered for another camp, and is on a waiting list for the camp his friends are attending.
“My husband and I were both very, very frustrated and upset that it crashed for both of us,” Lee said.
Lee had signed her older son up for Park District summer activities a few years ago and said she did not remember the registration process being as difficult. She also said the new map feature did not relieve any challenges because she and her husband were only looking at parks close to them.
“I’m not willing to drive really far to find a park that would take them,” Lee said.
The Park District says its revamped registration process has led to fewer complaints.
“Overall, we saw far fewer calls and messages on our social media than in previous years, reflecting the success of the live webinars, the improved checklist, and our initiative for parents to set up accounts in advance,” Park District spokesperson Irene Tostado said in an email.
The Park District is looking to implement more changes in the future to enhance the process, Tostado said.
Fagan and Lee both said they want to see registration become more accessible for families that are not able to log onto their computers right at 9 a.m., when registration typically opens.
“I know a lot of friends who don’t have that flexibility, and they just look elsewhere,” Fagan said.
Prices for summer camp programs remained relatively similar to last year, though some saw large jumps. The camp at Hermitage Park jumped from $85 to $100. The program at Wilson Park saw the largest dollar increase, jumping $45 to a fee of $425.
Shuang Jiang, who enrolled both her daughters, 5 and 8, in Park District summer programs, said the price increase is worthwhile.
“To be fair, it’s much cheaper than the programs outside of Park District,” Jiang, 40, said. “I think everything is getting pricey.”