3K / Pre-K & Infant/Toddler Programs

With nearly half a century of continuous experience and expertise in the field, The Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centers, Inc., (FOCH) is the leading not-for-profit provider of contracted Child Care and Early Childhood Education services under the NYC Department of Education’s Birth-to-Five program. Under this program, we operate 21 full-service Early Childhood Education Centers with a combined annual enrollment of more than 2,000 infants, toddlers and preschoolers in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. Through this initiative, FOCH is also a premier provider of Universal 3K and Pre-K services, delivering a comprehensive, high-quality, standards-based and developmentally appropriate instructional program for hundreds of 3- and 4-year-old Pre-kindergarten children. Our 3K and Pre-K program curricula integrate a broad spectrum of age-appropriate learning activities including the visual and performing arts, social studies, literacy, science, social-emotional development, physical education and math. 

All Friends of Crown Heights Centers are licensed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and staffed by State-certified, multilingual teachers and providers. Our concept-based instructional strategies are implemented in an open classroom design with activities that are student-directed, self-correcting and aligned with the Common Core Standards. We intentionally employ a holistic, multi-sensory and multicultural approach to learning in order to maximize the opportunities for all children and facilitate their acquisition of age-appropriate cognitive, linguistic, gross/fine motor, social/emotional and self-help skills. In addition to a developmentally appropriate education, all children receive free daily nutritious meals and snacks prepared on site, as well as access to supplemental community resources such as dental and medical screenings. Our programs also include a robust family engagement component through which families are empowered to fully participate in their children’s education.