Children's Center of New Milford

The Children’s Center opened its doors in September 1971, beginning with only a handful of children in a donated space and a budget of only a few thousand dollars. Since then, The Center has grown into a model of top-quality early childhood education serving over 100 children every year.

In 1980, The Children’s Center bought the large Tudor building on Aspetuck Avenue that was the home of our founder, Dr. Barbara Hamlin. With an acre of land, we were able to expand our building and programs without losing the warm feeling of the original home. Our wonderful location allows us to have spacious playgrounds and puts us within a short walking distance of the town green. Our children develop a deep sense of connection to the community through our many walking trips to the library, the senior center, Town Hall, the VCA, and local businesses.

Our first programs were focused on preschool-age children, but soon grew to include an after-school program for kindergarteners, first, and second graders. In 2003, we opened our infant/toddler program, and in 2011, we created our pre-kindergarten program for families who wished to give their children an extra year before entering the public school system. Each of these expansions, which resulted from community and parental requests, has brought us to where we are today, serving children ranging in age from 3 months to eight years-old.

The Children’s Center is proud of being the first state-funded preschool in Connecticut to receive National Accreditation by NAEYC, the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Though it is challenging to achieve, The Children’s Center has maintained its NAEYC accreditation since 1986, earning high scores on the ten NAEYC standards in our most recent NAEYC evaluations. NAEYC programs are recognized for their commitment to excellence in early childcare education through providing a safe and healthy environment, well-trained teachers, excellent teaching materials, and an appropriately challenging and developmentally sound curriculum.

From our earliest days, we have believed that cost should not be an obstacle for a family that wishes to enroll their child in an early childhood education program. Our nonprofit status and our NAEYC Accreditation allow us to receive grants that fund a sliding fee scale, providing low to moderate-income working parents the benefit of significantly discounted tuition rates.

Through its deep roots in the community, dedication to developmentally appropriate learning, and overall excellence, the Children’s Center of New Milford has provided a rich environment for children to grow and flourish for over five decades.