The Right Start Can Make All the Difference

The first few years of life provide the foundation for a child's future.  A late start or set back in healthy development can have a long-lasting impact.

In the 1880s, when kindergarten was a groundbreaking concept, the settlement movement pioneered this new idea in New York. Soon public school kindergarten spread across the nation. Today, we know that providing a strong educational foundation must begin even earlier, and University Settlement is again leading the way in early childhood education.

Through innovative management, University Settlement is able to offer low-income parents exceptionally high-quality early childhood programs. For working parents, this solves an urgent child care problem while providing their children with cutting edge literacy and math curriculums, small classes and multi-lingual teachers. For children who don't speak English at home, their classroom experience is a bridge to English language skills critical for success in elementary school. 

Some families need a little more support. University Settlement has developed a range of programs that address challenges and needs of diverse children, their parents and caregivers.

Nurturing the potential of every child is a smart idea, and it makes all the difference.