UCLA Gateway

Where Great Futures Begin

Early Care and Education (ECE) operates an award-winning, accredited, nationally recognized program that is highly effective in supporting the recruitment and retention of faculty, students and staff who are key to the mission of the University. Our name portrays the scope of our services to campus families, giving emphasis to the importance of early education experiences in light of knowledge gained from current brain development research.

Basic Care Information

• UCLA Early Care and Education operates three accredited child care centers.
• We serve the diverse population of UCLA’s student, staff and faculty families.
• Hours of operation are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, throughout the year.
• Need-based tuition assistance is available for student families only.
• The ECE Resource and Information Program provides individualized assistance, parenting and consumer information to over 1,000 families each year. For more information, click on the link under Related Links on the right navigation panel.

Staff

Each classroom is staffed by three full-time Early Childhood teachers with Child Development Permits from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Many of our teachers are working on advanced degrees. UCLA students provide additional staffing.

Age Groups and Tuition

Full-time monthly fees effective September 1, 2013. The tuition fee is an annual fee based on the age of the child. It is divided for your convenience into monthly payments. Tuition rates may change without notice.

Special Features

• Accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• Recognized by High Scope Educational Research Foundation and NAEYC as an exemplary campus-based early childhood program.
• Respects parents as the first and most important caregivers who partner with early childhood teachers in nurturing children.
• Provides a daily schedule that balances active and quiet times, individual interactions with small and large group participation, child-initiated and teacher-directed activities.
• Implements a developmentally appropriate curriculum based on the view that children learn best when they are actively exploring a carefully constructed environment in the company of loving, professionally prepared teachers.
• Offers "Pathways to Science," a specialized, staff-developed curriculum that fosters children’s critical thinking.
• Mindful Awareness Practices: Attention, balance and compassion can be seen as "the new ABC's." Practicing these skills is part of the process of becoming more attentive and aware. ECE works with UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) Inner Kids. See more information at http://www.innerkids.org or www.marc.ucla.edu