Early Childhood
Learning Center

WELCOME TO THE ECLC!

Thank you for your interest in the Early Childhood Learning Center! We are excited to meet you and to introduce you to our extraordinary community of learners.

Our Admissions process for the 2026-2027 school year will launch on Tuesday August 19, 2025. If you have questions or would like to inquire about our school, please email us at admissions@templeisraelnyc.org or call our office at 212-249-5001.

Children at a table doing an art project

A group of young kids watching a performance

From Our Director

Dear Families,
Walking onto the 4th floor of Temple Israel, you can feel the warm and vibrant community and culture that defines who we are. Teachers and children work collaboratively to co-construct curricula in the classrooms that reflect not only the interests of the children but developmentally appropriate goals and milestones for each individual child. Parents and families are our partners, joining together with the children and teachers to create a seamless connection between home and school.
Exploration, play, curiosity and beautiful environments frame our work and our learning.
As a progressive school, inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy and by Jewish values and traditions, the Early Childhood Learning Center is a joyful learning environment for children of all backgrounds. We believe that play is the universal language of children and the medium used to encourage children to discover the world.
We believe that children learn by “doing;” and as such we are raising the next generation of innovators, problems solvers, artists, mathematicians, scientists, healers and citizens of the world. The child is at the center of all that we do.
I invite you to learn more about our school. Come visit us for a tour or participate in one of our family programs. The ECLC is a special place and we look forward to sharing it with you.
Best,
Read more from Lisa »
Philosophy + Mission

The child is at the center of all we do in the ECLC. Our goal is to nurture each child’s natural sense of curiosity, creativity and persistence and to help them develop the critical thinking skills necessary to become independent and enthusiastic life-long learners.
Our philosophy and curriculum are based on our understanding that each child develops at an individual pace. We are deeply immersed in the developmental stages and needs of young children, and seek to create a secure and exciting place for children to expand their imagination and grow confident in their abilities. Every child participates in daily discovery-based, hands-on learning experiences through a range of large group, small group and individual learning activities. Our classrooms are filled with play, art, music and literature; and our expert faculty works to help children develop the abilities to create, ask questions, problem solve, express themselves and work well with others.
Our curriculum is planned so that children are consistently exposed to the foundational concepts of literacy, math, writing, science and social studies in ways that are meaningful for them. This means that teachers build curricula around the interests of the children in the class, giving them the opportunity to co-construct along with their teachers.
Community and inclusion are values highlighted by building relationships for children, for our families and within the Temple. We offer opportunities for parents alone – and for families to come together outside of school hours for education, social programming and community service.

Admissions

ADMISSIONS

We are excited to share more with you about Temple Israel and the Early Childhood Learning Center. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at eclc@templeisraelnyc.org. We look forward to meeting you and to getting to know your family through this process.

AGES

Children must turn two by August 31st of the year that they will start school. If your child does not make this cut off, we encourage you to check out our BABY + TODDLER classes which are the perfect pre-preschool experience.

APPLICATION PROCESS

We hope to streamline this experience for you as much as we can, while still giving you several opportunities to get to know us.

TOURS

The first step is to sign up for a tour. We are offering tours from mid-October through early-December, but space is limited in each. We encourage parents to come and tour while school is in session (in the mornings), but we recognize that not everyone’s schedule can accommodate that, so we are offering a few evening tours as well. If you can’t find a time that works with your schedule, please reach out to us.

Tours are for parents only and last 75-90 minutes. During that time, you will have the opportunity to meet with our Director, Lisa Samick, as well as a current parent in our school. We will give you a general overview of the program and the community and then go visit the classrooms.

APPLICATION

Applications are due by December 1, 2022

PARENT MEETING

In mid-December, you will be invited to set up a 1:1 meeting with a member of our admissions team in January or February. This is an opportunity for us to get to know your family and for you to learn more about our school.

NOTIFICATION

As part of ISAAGNY, we follow the citywide notification and reply dates. Admissions decisions will go out on Thursday, March 2nd and parents have until Thursday, March 9th to reply.

ADMISSIONS TIMELINE

Timeline	Process
August / September	Applications open Set up your Admissions Tour
October 31, 2021	Early Notification Applications Due
October/November	Admissions Tours take place
December 1, 2022	Applications are due
January / February	Individual Parent Meetings
March 2, 2023	Admissions decisions sent out by email
March 9, 2023	Parent reply deadline by 12pm.

Throughout this process, you are welcome to join us for Friday night services, Tot Shabbat, and our Family Engagement programming. None of these events are required for admissions, but we recognize that this is an important decision for your family, and we want to make sure that you have ample opportunity to get to know our family of families!

Classes and Tuition

Tuition below is based on the 2022-2023 school year. Please note that the following does not include Temple membership + fees.
2s and young 3s:
Our youngest students are filled with wonder about the world around them. Our warm, nurturing classrooms provide the perfect backdrop for your child’s separation and for their incredible growth during this time. We work with the children to become more independent and to develop their sense of pride and self-confidence.
2-day (3 hours/day)
3-day (3 hours/day) $17,100
5-day (3 hours/day) $26,100
3s:
In the 3s we are focusing on developing the whole child: social and emotional development, speech and language development, fine and gross motor development, cognitive development and creative expression through art, music, drama, and movement. We work to foster problem-solving skills, emotional regulation, and resilience through a lens of respect and kindness.
5-day (3 hours/day) $26,100
5-day (4 hours/day) $28,900
4s and 5s:
Building on the skills our 4s and 5s have already mastered, the focus of these years is to create lifelong learners who are driven by their own curiosity and self-efficacy
Children navigate the classroom and their learning independently and in collaboration with their peers, guided by our educators. Our students leave these classrooms infinitely prepared for their next educational journey – both in terms of learning and in terms of being a part of a community.
5-day (5 hours/day) $29,500
5-day (5.5 hours/day) $30,100

We are proud to be members of the following organizations:

FAQ

How do you determine who is accepted to the preschool?
Do you have to be a member of Temple Israel to attend?
Does my child need to be potty trained?
Do you provide snacks and lunch?
Are you a nut-free school?

Like many schools, we do not allow nuts or foods made with nut products in our school. All foods provided by the school will be nut-free. However, since we cannot always be sure about the source of food that families bring in from home, we have a strict “no sharing” policy. Other food or environmental allergies or sensitivities are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
How do you determine in which class my child will be placed?

We look at the incoming class of children and group them generally by age, with consideration for gender mix and social dynamics. For children moving “up” from one classroom to another, we always group them in a class with some classmates from the previous year.
Will my children learn the ABCs and 123s?

Yes! Though perhaps in a different way than you would expect them to learn. Our classrooms are immersed in print and literature, giving children constant exposure to letters and numbers. Tasks in the classroom will further that intellectual curiosity and growth. Research has proven that this more organic methodology is much more effective in fostering children who love learning and truly understand the math and language concepts we introduce.
We’re an Interfaith family and consider us more spiritual than religious - how "Jewish" is the school?
What is the parent community like?

Our parent community, like our school, is warm, supportive and diverse. Our Parents Association is committed to supporting every aspect of our school and our parent body. They organize a multitude of opportunities for parents, grandparents and siblings to be involved in the school and to build community themselves.
When it’s time to apply to Kindergarten, what type of support is offered?

In the spring before your final year in the school, we host a meeting to outline the process and walk through the various options and opportunities. A panel of parents who have already graduated from the ECLC are on hand to share insights, advice and suggestions. Our director meets with each family to discuss their child, their options and to help craft the application plan.
Where do children go on to Kindergarten?

Our students go on to some of the most competitive public and independent schools in and around Manhattan. In the last few years, children have been accepted to a wide-variety of traditional and gifted and talented public schools, as well as Allen-Stevenson, Avenues, Bank Street, Birch Wathen Lenox, Browning, Buckley, Chapin, Columbia Grammar, Dalton, Dwight, Ethical Culture, Fieldston, Friends Seminary, Hewitt, Heschel, Horace Mann, Mandell, Nightingale-Bamford, Packer, Riverdale, Rodeph Sholom, St. Bernard’s, Spence, Town, Trevor Day School and Trinity.
Have more questions?