It’s neat to see children exposed to the arts, the beautiful campus, and the toys they have for the kids. The school reminds me of being at the Phoenix Children’s Museum where I’ve spent a lot of time with my son and daughter. When I mentioned the similarities to her, the next time we went to the Educare campus, my daughter agreed, “My school is like the Phoenix Children’s Museum!” –Laura E. Parsons, Parent

Our Unique Environment

Educare Arizona offers children and families the best environment possible for infants and young children to feel comfortable, nurtured, safe, and inspired to grow, learn, and develop.

The following aspects of our environment contribute to our students’ success, demonstrating what a high quality preschool learning environment looks like:

Child-Centered Learning Spaces

We designed and constructed the building and surrounding areas with children’s learning in mind. Plenty of physical space and light allow babies, toddlers, and preschoolers to explore, learn, and develop. Classrooms, playgrounds, the courtyard, and multi-purpose rooms are safe, comfortable places that promote bonds between the teaching staff and young children. We positioned many windows at children’s eye level with glass windows between classrooms so that siblings and others can see each other throughout the day.

Spaces encourage interactive learning as teachers and children observe each other reading, acting out stories, creating artwork, counting, or conducting simple experiments together.

Each classroom even has a large, globe-shaped fishbowl for children’s enjoyment and learning.

Teacher Training and Research Observation Rooms

Educare Arizona serves as a training ground for teacher candidates each year in the field of early childhood development. One observation room is designed to allow teachers-in-training and university researchers the unique opportunity to observe both an infant-toddler and a preschool classroom at the same time.

The Child Development Associate Program (CDA) began in 2012, more than 330 candidates have completed the program. Of those candidates, many are now employed in Early Head Start and Head Start programs.

Parent Resource Library and Community Rooms

Inside Educare Arizona, we devote space to family-related activities, including a parent resource library to facilitate parents’ efforts in career, education, and parenting practices. Community rooms provide space for family-related activities, including counseling and support groups, as well as parent trainings.

Family-Style Dining

According to the National Institutes of Health, “Poor nutrition can cause problems with a child’s intellectual development.”  A child with a poor diet may be tired, unmotivated, unable to learn at school or more easily become sick and miss school. Educare Arizona has a full service kitchen that provides our students breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day. Students eat meals together “family style” around a table in their classroom with their teachers in a relaxed, calm setting. Infants and toddlers eat meals in their classroom according to their own individual eating schedules.

LEED® Silver Certification

Educare Arizona is a “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design” (LEED®) certified building. This means we participated in the U.S. Green Building Council’s green building certification program, which recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. Educare Arizona’s building project satisfied prerequisites and earned points to achieve silver level certification.

Sustainable Design

Professionals designed Educare Arizona to take into account our unique desert climate in Phoenix. The sustainable design maximizes solar efficiencies, blends with the natural landscape, and reduces environmental impact.

Vegetable Garden

Our garden is located in the courtyard area where teachers can bring children outdoors to learn about sustainable gardening. We have a master gardner who oversees garden interns from Arizona State University. The garden produces enough food for children to enjoy tasting opportunities of their school-grown lettuce, artichokes, and other vegetables. Students also participate in a “Farmers’ Market” where  they “sell” what they harvest to parents as they leave for the day.

Mobile Market

Every week a mobile market, supported by community sponsors and partners, arrives to provide families, friends, and neighbors of Educare Arizona the opportunity to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at affordable prices in an area of Phoenix considered a food desert. For payment, Fresh Express accepts SNAP, cash, credit and debit cards.