Center for Infants and Toddlers

1030 West 16th St., Indianapolis, IN 46202
Paths to Quality
4/5

Day Early Learning Center for Infants & Toddlers focuses exclusively on the development and care of children ages 6 weeks to 36 months. Located one mile west of Methodist Hospital, the center is conveniently located for families who live or work on the near-west side of Indianapolis.

At Day Early Learning, we believe that the foundation to a lifelong love of learning for a child begins with a nurturing relationship with their teachers. Infant teachers are trained in responsive caregiving. That means they work to build a trusting relationship with each child, provide individualized care to each infant and toddler, and develop partnerships with families. All infants experience a responsive, sensitive caregiving environment.

Day Early Learning teachers are education professionals with either a bachelor’s or associatee degree in early childhood education or have or are working towards the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Because lifelong learning is central to our work, teachers continue their education through regular trainings. Additionally, Day Early Learning Quality Coaches work with each teacher in individual classrooms to enhance teaching skills. All teachers undergo a screening and background check prior to employment.

The center’s Early Head Start program provides comprehensive child development and family support services for families with infants to 3-year-olds, including health screenings, home visits and free diapers, wipes and formula.

Center Leadership

Kat Christian
School Leader

Previously a Team Lead, Kat was elevated to a School Leader in June 2023. Kat has been with Day Early Learning since 2015. She has an associate degree in early childhood education and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Kat loves watching the children in her class learn and grow.

Heather Mitchell
Operations Manager

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.

Nicole Rooks
Director of Program Quality
Nicole joined Day Early Learning in late 2022 and holds a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Educational Psychology. She is excited to use her 20 years of experience to collaborate with school leaders to ensure the support of children and families in our programs.
Courtney Veintimilla
Curriculum and Instruction Coach

With nearly a decade of experience, Courtney came to Day Early Learning in late 2020. She has a bachelor’s in child development along with a master’s degree in educational psychology and neuropsychology. Courtney loves helping her peers around the center and can find her at concerts, reading or exploring new places with her husband during her free time.

Mary Meek
Family Engagement Specialist

Mary joined Day Early Learning in 2019 and has a bachelor’s degree in social work. Her favorite part about her role is being a resource in helping families meet their goals for well-being and success. Mary also enjoys giving parents the opportunity to further their own education and establish careers while knowing their children are being cared for in a high-quality early learning environment.

Nyeshia Baird
Family Engagement Specialist

Nyeshia has been with Day Early Learning since 2009 and started as a substitute teacher before working her way up to Classroom Support Professional. She has a bachelor’s degree in human development and family life studies and her favorite part about her role is seeing families overcome obstacles to reach their goals.

Laura Sulecki
Nurse Practitioner

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. Please check to see if you qualify.

Infants

$398

per week
Toddlers

$374

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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Early Head Start Program

Early Head Start is a model early childhood program for infants and toddlers, ages birth to three years. At three Day Early Learning centers, including our Center for Infants and Toddlers, and three partner sites, children receive the highest-quality infant and toddler care, including health services and family supports. Our goal is to provide an individualized, responsive and inclusive educational-approach for children and families that promotes opportunities for the healthy growth, education and development of infants, toddlers and their families.
 
Families can qualify by having income within set federal poverty guidelines or be recipients of SNAP, TANF or SSI. Any families that are also experiencing homeless or fostering a child with a diagnosed disability may qualify. 

Health Services & Development

We strive to increase availability, quality and effectiveness of physical, dental, nutritional and mental health services available to our families. By addressing children’s health needs, Early Head Start ensures that children can focus on learning. Each child receives health and developmental screenings and, if necessary, are referred to community health partners or intervention services for follow-up services.

Family Support & Engagement​

Our goal is to engage and educate families, enabling them to be advocates for their children. We work to ensure families have the resources needed to sustain economic stability. Through frequent communication and home visits, we work with families to create family goals and help connect them with resources and agencies to improve their well-being.

Community Resources​

Our goal is to become a resource for infant and toddler expertise both for practitioners looking to learn more about how to develop high-quality programming and for decision-makers seeking to learn more about how to best invest in children and families birth to age three.

EHS children must maintain an 85% attendance rate each month. If children will be late or not present, the family must communicate with their assigned Family Engagement Specialist.

Two home visits occur each year and are a program requirement.

Early Head Start school years start on August 1. Children will receive a hearing, vision and growth assessment each year. During their time in the program, their health records will be monitored, including well-child checks and immunizations.

The Early Head Start program partners with parents, guardians, families and the community with a common goal to assist with making progress towards goals created by the parents/guardians. Together, we support children’s learning and healthy development while contributing to your family’s well-being.

Contact one of our Family Engagement Specialist for more information or apply for Early Head Start here. To view our 2021 Annual Head Start Report, click here

Interested in Day Early Learning?
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