Program
Facilities
Schedules
Admission
School Year
Founded in 1976, Children's Learning Center (formerly located at Union Theological Seminary) provides a relaxed, friendly and nurturing environment that promotes children's growth in all developmental spheres. The school believes children learn best through play at their own individual rates. Teachers plan and facilitate developmentally appropriate curriculum, encouraging children to discover and interpret their world through cooperative and independent play. Art, science, music, social studies, cooking, sand and water play are some of the activities in which the children of all three classrooms participate. Children bring their own lunches; the school provides snacks.
Each of the classrooms is well equipped and has access to a full kitchen. The Yellow Room (Infants and Toddlers), Red Room (Twos and Threes) and Purple Room (Threes and Fours) are located within the grassy Morningside Gardens housing complex. The school uses a variety of places for outdoor play including its two playgrounds, and nearby Riverside and Sakura Parks.
The Center's hours are 8:30 to 5:30. We offer an early morning drop off (8:00) to a limited number of families. Children may enroll for:
Morning Sessions (8:30-2:00)
Full Session (8:30-3:30)
Extended Session (8:30-5:30)
Children may enroll for three, four, or five days a week, or for different schedules on different days of the week. We do not offer "drop in" care.
We are located at 90 LaSalle Street (between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway) in Morningside Gardens. LaSalle Street is equivalent to 124th Street.
Applications are accepted for the new school year until the first week of December of the preceding year. After submitting an application, families tour the Center. Notification of admission is sent out the second week in March, with preferences given to siblings of children already enrolled and affiliates of Morningside Gardens, Jewish Theological Seminary, Columbia University and Barnard College. The Center seeks a balance of ages and sexes and tries to reflect a commitment to a nonsectarian, multi-cultural and multiracial community. Families who are not offered a space in March are placed on a waiting list until an appropriate space opens up. Click here to download the application form.
The Center is
open from September through June with an optional July summer camp program. The
school calendar, listing vacations and holidays, can be viewed by clicking on
the calendar button on the menu bar. The Center offers back-up care during some
holidays for families who are enrolled full-time.