Fort Harrison
- Monday-Friday 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
- P: 317-676-9187 F: 317-377-7019
- enrollment@dayearlylearning.org
- 6 weeks - 5 years
Immediate openings - get started now!
Day Early Learning at Fort Harrison provides high-quality early care and education for infants to pre-K on the far east side of Indianapolis. Located just outside the Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in the heart of Fort Benjamin Harrison, our center works with many military families, Defense Finance and Accounting Services employees and families within the Lawrence community. Federal employees receive priority placement and a weekly discount at our center.
Testimonials
The center offers countless activities and opportunities for parents to volunteer and participate, which really makes you feel like part of the community. The staff members are friendly, caring, and professional, and the facility itself is up to standard, with plenty of safe and engaging play areas for the children.
One of my absolute favorite events is the Halloween parade. The kids, parents, and teachers all dress up and walk over to the D Fast Indianapolis center for a trick-or-treating parade. It’s such a joyful experience that lets families and children create wonderful memories together.
Day Early Learning is not just a childcare center—it’s a place where your child can thrive and where you, as a parent, can feel truly involved. I highly recommend it to any family looking for an environment that makes a real impact in your child’s life!
At Day Early Learning at Fort Harrison, your child will learn and grow in a safe environment. Our school has seven spacious classrooms and two outdoor areas featuring turf playgrounds and mud kitchens. Classrooms are designed to provide a fun learning environment and are outfitted with developmentally-appropriate learning materials to help your child explore and learn. Teachers have access to a STEAM lending library with more than 75 hands-on learning bins. The school also hosts monthly family engagement events.
School Leadership
Since joining Day Early Learning in 2013, Heather has served as a lead teacher, team lead and, now, an operations manager. She owns more than 15 years of experience in early care and education and owns a bachelor’s in family and consumer sciences along with a master’s teaching certificate in early childhood education.
Donna has been part of the Day Early Learning team since 2022 and currently serves as operations manager at our State Government Center location. Her favorite part of each day is greeting families and children as they arrive—she loves seeing their joy and excitement as they walk through the door. With more than 25 years of experience in early childhood education, Donna brings a deep passion for learning and a strong commitment to supporting children and families.
Outside of work, Donna enjoys drawing and expressing herself through art. She’s a proud mom to three boys and a spirited ‘mamaw’ to one spunky little girl. Her warmth, creativity and commitment to building strong relationships make her a wonderful addition to our Fort Harrison community.
Laura is a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nurse who has been with Day Early Learning for more than 10 years. Prior to her time at Day Early Learning, she worked in a neonatal intensive care unit, a developmental pediatric office and a pediatric primary care office. Laura has four boys and enjoys traveling to the beach, swimming and gardening during her free time.
Tuition Rates
As a nonprofit, our goal is to provide high-quality, accredited early childhood care and education at a price families can afford. The prices listed below reflect our full fee. Many families qualify for discounts or financial aid. Federal employees are eligible for a $25 weekly discount. Please check to see if you qualify.
Infants
$410
per week
Toddlers
$385
per week
3-5 Years Old
$304
per week
NOTE: Tuition rates vary based on county. Please visit the page for your desired location to view current rates.
Quick Guide
When you entrust your child to Day Early Learning, you can expect a high level of quality, safety and integrity. Day Early Learning supports the highest standards of early care and education by adhering to national accreditation standards and the state of Indiana’s Paths to QUALITY™ (PTQ) Level 4 standards.
All Day Early Learning classrooms utilize The Creative Curriculum, a research-based early child care and education curriculum. The learning objectives of the curriculum are aligned with Indiana’s Early Learning Foundations and include child-focused activities that address language and literacy, math, cognitive, science, social-emotional and physical development.
Your child’s classroom will have an individualized lesson plan posted every week. Each activity on the lesson plan is purposeful and intentionally planned based on the teachers’ observations of each child in the classroom.
Regularly assessing each child’s growth and development allows teachers to tailor lessons and activities to the needs of each individual child. All Day Early Learning centers use several methods to assess each child’s growth and development including TS GOLD® observations and the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA).
Teachers must have either a bachelor’s or an associate degree in early childhood education. Classroom support professionals must have a high school diploma and CDA or 12 college credits in early care and education within two years of hire. All teachers are trained in Universal Precautions, first aid and CPR.
Children at Day Early Learning receive a healthy breakfast, lunch and two snacks a day at our centers. Meals are designed to be balanced and include fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while limiting the amount of sugars and processed foods. Weekly menus are posted in your center.
Our menus are reviewed by a certified nutritionist, approved by the Indiana Department of Education and meet the Gold Standard from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for Child Nutrition Programs. Additionally, our culinary team members are Serv-Safe certified to ensure food safety.
You are your child’s first and most important teacher. You are always welcome at Day Early Learning. Feel free to visit the center and participate in special programs and activities. Your participation is important to your child’s success.
Your child’s health and safety are our top priority, and we work to prevent illnesses through our health and safety policies. When illnesses do occur, school leaders will inform parents of the illness, symptoms and incubation period, per Indiana State Licensing regulations. We take extra care to sanitize classroom surfaces, toys and common use items whenever an illness is confirmed in a classroom.