"I Love My Counselors!"

Sweet Words To A Parent's Ear? Indeed they are! And to ours, too. That's why the very best staff can be found at Crestwood.

Experience

The superior reputation of the Crestwood Country Day School is due mainly to the extremely high quality of its leadership.

Maturity

All Group Leaders are college graduates. No one with less training than that of a college student may serve as a counselor.

Stability

There is a priceless advantage for the child enrolled at Crestwood. A continuing relationship exists and is maintained between the child and staff. The reason? The counselors return year after year and succeed in knowing the children intimately. Many counselors have been at Crestwood for more than 10 years and are part of our year-round teaching staff.

Crestwood is dedicated to bringing you and your child the highest level of service in the industry. Every effort is made by the Directors, Specialists, and Counselors to meet the needs of each child.

Our goal is for each child to come away from Crestwood with new friends, a greater feeling of confidence and self-esteem, new skills and interests, and most importantly the most fun experience of their lives.

Mark Hemmerdinger (Owner/Director) - Began his career at Crestwood as a pre-schooler. After many summers at camp and a degree from Cornell University, Mark began a career as a summer day camp professional. Mark rejoined Crestwood as a Director in 1998. Mark is a past president of LICAPS (Long Island Camp and Private School Association) and is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Camp Association (NY-Section) and the New York State Camp Directors Association (NYSCDA). Mark is a frequent speaker at many camp conferences and seminars. His wife Jessica was a teacher for 10 years in the Commack School District (regular and special education certified) and is now assisting in directing Crestwood. Their children Lena and Alex attend Crestwood’s school and camp.

Mark Transport (Owner/Director) - Brings a lifetime of camping experience to the Crestwood Team with over 20 years of camp ownership experience at Camp Wah-nee and Camp Taconic. Mark received a dental degree from NYU, graduating in the first six year class BA/DDS in the country. He practiced dentistry for over 25 years. His wife, Meryl, graduated from the University of Maryland and worked in advertising and marketing for many years. Together with their daughter Jillian, the Transports reside in Dix Hills. Meryl is active in school life and Mark was on the Temple Board at Beth Torah in Melville. They collectively bring over 40 years of camping experience and will help guide Crestwood for years to come.

Jeff Deutsch D.C. (Director) -Joined Crestwood in 1999 after a successful career caring for children and adults in his own Chiropractic business. Jeff’s entire family, including his wife and two daughters, spent their summers at Crestwood.

Stephanie Hart (Educational Director) - Has been part of the Crestwood family since 1997. She has received a BFA in Education and a Masters degree from CW Post. Stephanie worked in the public school system for 7 years and has worked several positions at Crestwood from being a Counselor, Group Leader and Division Head during the summers as well as teaching music during the school year.

The Schnittman Family (Founders) - Crestwood was founded in 1956 by Norman Schnittman, a NYC school teacher who had a vision to create a summer camp for children on Long Island. For nearly 50 years, Norman and his crazy hats were the spirit that drove Crestwood. After spending many summers at Crestwood in various positions, Norman’s son, Bruce Schnittman became the Owner/Director in the 1970’s through 2011, turning Crestwood into the children’s paradise that you see today. The Schnittman’s made the name “Crestwood” recognized as the premier day camp in the country.