Early Childhood Center

EXPLORE. CREATE. ENGAGE. 

 Our Early Childhood Center is now accepting applications for the 2012/2013 school year!

Click here to learn about our comprehensive curriculum.

Call 212-453-4524
to schedule a visit today!

University Settlement's Early Childhood Center is a highly respected child care and early education program that has been serving preschoolers and their families on the Lower East Side since 1966.

Located in University Settlement's landmark, historic Lower East Side building, the Early Childhood Center provides children with a full-year, full-day program (8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) with a head teacher, assistant teacher and full-time teacher's aide in each classroom.  Classrooms are spacious and filled with natural light, and our facilities also include a dance studio, an art room and a full-size gymnasium.

Curriculum

Our curriculum, which is based on research in the fields of early childhood education and developmental psychology, includes:

• Preschool Reading & Writing Workshop
• Big Math for Little Kids
• Special Projects (these projects are driven by children's interests and integrate topics across all areas of the curriculum)

As well as regularly offered enrichment activities, including:

• Music and creative movement classes
• Yoga
• Swimming at University Settlement's state-of-the-art Houston Street Center
• Daily indoor and outdoor play
• Field trips to museums, the zoo, etc.

Children with special needs are offered the additional support they need to succeed. Small, therapeutic peer playgroups are used to address simple behavioral problems. Children found to have learning disabilities or physical or psychological problems are provided with individualized speech therapy, occupational therapy and/or psychological counseling. 

The Center also provides workshops and education for parents, social service advocacy and referrals, and parent involvement through committees and volunteer opportunities.

Early Childhood Center services are offered in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Fujianese and Taiwanese, and are free of charge or on a sliding scale to income-eligible families residing or working in the Lower East Side and Chinatown communities.

University Settlement's Early Childhood Center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).