Syracuse University Child Care Centers

Our centers have proudly provided a warm and welcoming environment for young children and their families for over 50 years.

Our unique facilities offer a variety of small and large spaces for play. Our large, fenced-in outdoor spaces feature natural playscapes and gardens. The centers provide expressive art materials that allow children to communicate their feelings, explore different concepts and discover themselves as learners. We maintain a secure, creative environment in which to encourage each child’s development of skills. The teachers provide a variety of appropriate open-ended activities and experiences, which allow your child to create and experiment with their own ideas. We are responsive to children’s needs and work to incorporate all domains of learning into the children’s everyday experiences at the centers.

We provide training and employment opportunities for Syracuse University students and collaborate within our University community. Center staff build strong relationships with the children and partner with families to ensure the best possible experience.

Children become confident when they are given the freedom to test their theories over and over again.

Mission

The Centers have a prioritized three-fold mission to provide:

1. 1. Responsive, developmental full day programs for young children of families affiliated with the University,

1. 1. Professional training for Syracuse University undergraduate and graduate students, and

1. 1. Facilities that support opportunities for collaboration, which will increase the knowledge and understanding of children’s development.

Program Philosophy and Curriculum

• • The centers provide developmentally-based programs in environments designed especially for young children.

• • We work to develop caring, respectful, and responsive relationships with children from infancy through preschool by partnering with families to support a child’s growth and development.

• • Respect for each child’s individualized learning pattern and timing of growth, as well as individual personality, learning style, interests, culture, logic and family background are central to the fabric of daily interactions and the direction the curriculum follows.

• • The staff support each child’s disposition to learn while (1) facilitating their learning and (2) fostering competencies in all domains, including intellectual, physical, social and emotional development.

• • We value the interaction between the individual and environment, seeing it as the basis for more complex learning and growth. Children come to own newfound understanding and knowledge when it is integrated into their daily experiences and existing paradigms in active and meaningful ways. This social constructivist philosophy forms the basis for our curriculum and our emphasis on all aspects of the environment.

• The schedule and space is structured to allow children to pace themselves and select activities based on their individual needs and interests. Knowledge is not given to children; they learn through playful and meaningful interactions with materials and people. This means that each child processes experiences uniquely. Teachers adapt and plan curriculum in response to this dynamic character of learning for young children.

University-affiliated families who wish to enroll their child in our program may add their name to our waitlist. There is typically a 2+ years wait for most programs, so we encourage families to look into a number of child care options within the community. We offer spaces to wait-listed families based on the date they are added to the list, upcoming openings within their child’s age group, and a one-third affiliation split across enrollment. SU-affiliated families enroll for a full academic year of care and have the option of enrolling in one, both, or neither of the summer sessions. We also offer optional Limited Basis weeks during which families can decide to opt-out of care for the week and pay no tuition. These weeks are in keeping with Syracuse University’s academic schedule.

Please note: The child’s parent or legal guardian must be a benefits-eligible faculty/staff member or a matriculated student to be eligible for enrollment in Syracuse University Child Care.