Emeryville Child Development Center
Community SubscriberEmeryville, CA
To see Department of Social Services records on this facility, click on its DSS Facility License # below.
At the Emeryville Child Development Center, we believe that all children deserve high-quality care in a warm and nurturing environment. We respect and celebrate the uniqueness of all children, responding to their individual needs. Taking a whole child approach, we support social-emotional, physical, and cognitive development. We appreciate that children learn best in a play-based, language rich, experiential setting. We embrace parents and caregivers as partners, and strive to create a supportive network that includes children, teachers, families, and the surrounding community.
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.My son attends ECDC and loves it. We moved to the Bay Area a little while ago so it was a transition for him but he is getting there. He is in Pre K 1 and has adapted pretty well with some parent/teacher guidence! The establishment has evened out with the assignment of a new director and it seems to be thriving. The Parents of ECDC group does an OUTSTANDING job of fundraising so the kids can go on field trips etc. This school is diverse and the classes are larger than our previous daycare. I think this is great for my son's intrapersonal skill building as well as great preperation for Kindergarten. I am not sure I am totally onboard with the "learning through play" model they have... i would like a little more targeted learning but our teacher is "switched on" and she knows when and how to challenge the kids so there is marked growth.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Sept 2013
My son has been in the Emeryville Child Development Center for a few months and we are very happy about it. The teachers are great. They love the kids and are very serious about their jobs. I can see my son is very happy there and whenever there is anything, the teachers called me right away. I am very comfortable with my son be there. The staff are all very friendly. I would highly recommend it to other parents! Jun
April 2013
We're looking into daycare options near Emeryville for our 8 month-old. The reviews of the Emeryville Child Development Center on BPN are rather old. If you've had a child attend ECDC in the last year or so, what has your experience been like? Best/worst aspects? Would you recommend it? Or is there some other home- or center-based daycare near Emeryville that you love? Thank you for any information. Heading to EMY
My son is in the ECDC's Pre-K 1 class. He started over 2 years ago when he was 19 months old in the Toddler 1 class. I wish we had started him at ECDC when I went back to work when he was 4 months old.
We have been very happy with the school. Many of his classmates started in the infant program and now their baby brothers and sisters are in the infant classroom. Although there has been a lot of turnover in the school's directors, the teaching staff is stable.
Besides the loving teachers, I have appreciated the hours (7:30-5:30). The school does a good job communicating the schedule off closed dates 6 months in advance. The school is open most of the year except for the week between Christmas and New Years, the last week of Aug for Staff Development and major holidays.
Unlike most schools, ECDC provides breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks. They recently switched to Chefables and the school provides the menu for each month.
ECDC also does a lot of fun events for the kids. Today was pajama day. Monday was make silly hats day. My son has gone on class trips to the Oakland Zoo and Children's Fairyland. My son is always coming home with art projects.
I've been especially happy with his Pre-K class. One of his teachers sends the parents pictures of our kids at school. We also get an email with the weekly lesson plans. My son has learned all his letters, is able to read numbers and spell his name. He is also learning a little Spanish and Russian.
I highly recommend ECDC.
H.
I'm writing in response to the request on the Childcare Digest for reviews of Emeryville Child Development Center. My child attended preschool there until recently. They have many talented and caring teachers, and it has the potential to be a very special place, but in our time there (following the retirement of the long term head of the school), there was too much turnover in the director position, and insufficient support from the city agency staff who are responsible for overseeing the center. You should check with current parents to see if leadership has stabilized. Former ECDC Parent
March 2009
We are looking for recent information/recommendations for Berkeley Child Education Center and/or Emeryville Child Development Center, for 2 y/o. Thank you! Sb
My son went to Emeryville Child Development Center until he was 5 years old. He loved it and so did we. Most of the teachers have been there for many, many years. The staff is very stable, loving and involved. There is a higher teacher to student ratio than average, and I've always felt that when my son needed a hug or a lap to sit on, he got one. It's also a fantastic facility, having been built specifically to be a daycare/preschool. The infant room is large and has it's own outdoor area, and I remember seeing the teachers down on the floor a lot with the babies, holding them and playing with them. The toddler room also has it's own play yard and is large and sunny. When a child is ready to move on to the next level room, they move in groups and a teacher will move with them. They get to know all the teachers, which makes it a stable environment for them. Several times a year there are family events, like an international potluck, so you can get to know other families there. It is also one of the most diverse schools I've ever seen. My son is in kindergarten right now and his teachers have told me that his preschool prepared him well for kindergarten. Happy with ECDC
April 2008
We are considering sending our 3 y/o son to ECDC this fall. I would love to hear more recent feedback about folks experiences with the school. j
We really like Emeryville Child Development Center. Our daughter is in the infant room and really likes it there. They are very diverse (kids and staff), and the teachers in that room are involved, patient, experienced, and caring. One of the things I noticed when I did an initial tour of the center was that the kids seemed happy there, and I still think that's true. Most of the teachers have been there a long time and there's low turnover rate for the staff (and I think among the kids as well). Hope some of this helps. ECDC parent
Dec 2006
any recent recommendations on the emerville child development center? thanks. i am thinking of sending my son there when he is about 20 months old. beth
My 4 year old daughter attends Emeryville Child Development Center. She started in Pre K2 and is now in Pre K3. She is thriving in that environment and we are so happy with the school. They have a good mix of group and individual play. We also like the diversity of the student body. Good luck! Hana
Jan 2005
I'm looking for updated information, praise, complaints about the Emeryville Child Development Center and the Model School. Everything in the archives seems quite old. We are looking at these two places for our eighteen-month-old son. Thanks. Holly
Our son was at Emeryville Child Development Center (ECDC) from 4 months old until almost 3. We only took him out because we moved. It has pros and cons. From a standpoint of care it is very good. The teachers have experience, the facilities are great, the teachers care about the kids. There is a diverse group of cultures at the school. Cost was pretty comparable. The cons would be more about the center's administration and communication. They have to deal with some City politics. Contact me is you want more info as I know it always helps to speak to other parents. FYI they are changing and will only take kids from 18 months soon. ECDC parent
my son graduated from ECDC two years ago and my daughter is graduating this june. all i can say it's a great school. we have a spanish program, multicultural dance program and is very diverse. this was the main reason i chose this school. i've done extensive research and have even pulled both my kids out of this school to try another closer to home and it didn't come close to what ECDC provides. all of the children graduating from ECDC that go to kindergarten are so prepared. i travel from castro valley to emeryville to take my daughter to this school. this is how much we love it. it's a sacrafice but so worth it!!!!!!!! i suggest take a tour, meet some of the parents and ask them questions. of course, my model school won't be someone else's. one thing i want to mention is the staff has low turnaround. most of them have been there from the day it open to five years. the teachers hold the children responsible for alot of things, of course we love this. good luck. yolanda
Jan 2004
Re: Affordable Pre-school for Toddler
I just visited one of the best and most affordable preschools in the East Bay...the Emeryville Early Childhood Development Center! It offers services to children 4 months through 5 years old. Operated through Emeryville City Services for the past 25 years, it is a great facility and program enrolling 90 children. The children are a wonderful rainbow of smiles - some the offspring of Chiron, Pixar, etc. employees, others from the surrounding neighborhood, others on subsidy - making it an ideal, real world (yet safe!) environment for your child's earliest school/social ventures. The Staff are wonderfully professional and yet many feel like someone's loving grandma. The (enclosed) playground, and child-sized and oriented environment (When did they start making toilets that small?)are both a parent's and toddlers dream. The school is located at 1220 53rd Street (...wonderful freeway and cross street access to ease your commute). Call its Director, Eleanor Letchaw at 510.596.4347 for more info (and tell her Wanda sent you.) Wanda
Nov 2002
I'll be putting my 5 month old in daycare and am looking in the Emeryville area. Does anyone have an opinion (good or bad)on the Emeryville Child Development Center? There's already one recommendation listed on the parents network site but it's from 1997. Also, any recommendations on childcare facilities in Emeryville (either home-based or other) are welcome. I'm starting this search from scratch and am using Bananas listings as well, but am hoping to narrow the search by hearing from some of you who have been through this before. Thanks in advance! Marjan
I have had my 18 month old son in the Emeryville Child Development Center since he was four months old. In general, my experience has been very positive. My son has become attached to his teachers and they genuinely seem to like the children. Since they are city employees, there is very little turnover in the staff though a few of the teachers did switch assignments in September. In the infant room, they focus mainly on keeping the children fed and happy. In the toddler room, they have all the kids on a schedule of music, play, nap, outdoor time and the like. This seems much more exciting and stimulating than the infant room, but I think this is just the nature of the ages. My only negative comments are mainly things that all daycares would experience- ie my child had a lot of colds and illnesses when he first started and has had a couple of bites since moving into the toddler room. (The bites were handled appropriately with the offenders getting time outs and the parents being notified.) The center also closes on every bank holiday which is inconvenient as I am not a banker. All in all, it's worked well for me and my son. Margaret
Feb 1997
I am replying to the concern regarding infant childcare. I took my son at 4 months old and my daughter at 6 months to the Emeryville Child Development Center. It is marvelous! My son turns 5 next week and he has gone to "school" at ECDC the entire time. ECDC offers care from 4 months until kindergarten. It is an easy commute from my home in Montclair and is only 10 minutes from UC. I highly recommend looking at it for infant (and beyond) care. I have met many other parents there but I have not met any who work at UC so I guess I should get the word out!
Kathleen
Yay ECDC! We had a fantastic time--the teachers are experienced and knowledgable and do fun age-appropriate activities for the kids. Because it's part of the city of Emeryville, you'll also get information about other kid-friendly activities happening in the city. Is it fancy and buzzwordy? Do they do Mandarin immersion? No. Do they make sure the kids are having fun, learning social skills, and learning some letters, shapes, and numbers? Yes!