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.

In partnership with the NYC Department of Education, The Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centers, Inc., (FOCH), operates an extensive Family Child Care Network (FCCN) delivering high-quality care and early education to children aged 6 weeks to 3 years old in more than 150 licensed provider homes throughout the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. With a contracted capacity of 1,000 children in these affiliated provider homes, our mixed-age Family Child Care programs are grounded in a holistic approach that ensures the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of every child are met. Affiliated providers are supported with instructional resources, coaching and hands-on program monitoring by our expert professional staff. All Family Child Care Network (FCCN) Providers are licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), and regulated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).

The Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centers, Inc., (FOCH) is a leading provider of high-quality Afterschool programs serving hundreds of school-age children (5- 13 years old) in both School- and Center-based settings. Under contract with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), FOCH currently operates four Elementary (COMPASS) and Middle School (SONYC) Afterschool programs serving a combined population of 496 students.  Of these, 402 are Elementary students (5-12 years old), and 94 are Middle School students (12-13 years old). At the Elementary level, these programs provide students with homework assistance and structured recreational and enrichment activity; at the Middle School level, they function as a pathway to success by offering participants a choice in how they spend their time, and providing them with opportunities to explore and develop their interests in sports, art, civic leadership and community service. 

Under contract with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), FOCH also serves an additional 320 Elementary students under the New York State Learning and Enrichment Afterschool Program Supports (LEAPS) initiative. Utilizing a Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach, our LEAPS Afterschool programs are all hosted in a school-based setting. The programs provide students with academic support and enrichment activities, prioritize their social-emotional wellness, facilitate mentorship, employment and life-skills training for participants and expand their opportunities for meaningful and constructive community engagement. All of our FOCH Afterschool curricula incorporate the STEAM concept, under which participants engage in activities that promote their understanding and appreciation of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. Among the activities offered are robotics, creative writing, music (steel pan), table tennis, computer coding, website design and visual art.

Summer In the City Day CampEach year, FOCH also operates a combination of both City-funded and independent summer programs for youth. Our signature Summer in the City program is a seasonal day camp held each summer at multiple sites for children aged 5 – 12 years old. Camp activities are designed to help participants keep physically active, develop their social and emotional skills and cultivate an interest in lifelong learning. Activities include organized sports and recreation, field trips to parks, museums, and notable landmarks around the city, art, craft and a choice of individual or group projects that stimulate participants’ exploration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Our Summer in the City camp begins shortly after Memorial Day and concludes on the Friday before Labor Day each year.

The Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centers, Inc., (FOCH) is a New York State-contracted sponsoring agency of the federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) — a nutrition education and meal reimbursement program helping providers serve nutritious and safely prepared meals and snacks to children in licensed child-care settings. Through this program, we directly support a network of 275 Group and Family Child Care providers for whom we administer reimbursements and deliver nutritional training and other technical supports. These providers together serve approximately 2,450 children in the City of New York.  !!!As a CACFP sponsoring agency, FOCH ensures that all meals served by participating providers meet minimum guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). We also deliver the technical support and administrative oversight required to ensure that providers in our network consistently meet the federally mandated nutritional standards of the program and obtain timely reimbursement for the expenses they incur.