Early Childhood Develop Center (Top-Ranked 草榴社区 School for 2026)

Home > Indiana > St. Joseph County > Notre Dame

Early Childhood Develop Center

10 Child Care Ctr
Notre Dame, IN 46556

Tel: (574) 631-3344

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Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #1 - During the summer, a gardening teacher engages the children in a wide variety of plant based experiences. Planting seeds, planting seedlings, caring for the plants and harvesting the produce connects the children to the environment and provides on-going concrete experiences with living science.

Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #3 - Nature based experiences, including gardening activities are an important of the children's science curriculum. During the summer, a gardening teacher engages the children in a wide variety of plant based experiences.

Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #4 - Children use a wide variety of tools, including binoculars, to explore and learn about the world.

Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #5 - Drawing and writing is an important aspect of the curriculum as it supports fine motor development, documentation and representing their world, and the pre-writing exposure. Here the three year olds are drawing pictures of watermelons in their nature journals. Red, green, black and yummy!

Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #6 - Loving and caring relationships are developed between children, families, teachers and program staff at ECDC fostering growth, development and learning. Positive and encouraging relationships are the foundation of high quality early childhood education.

Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #7 - Creative arts including fine art, music and drama are integrated throughout the early childhood curriculum. This child visited the Ansel Adams exhibit at the local museum and then created artwork similar to one of the Ansel Adams photos.

Early Childhood Develop Center Photo #8 - Experienced based learning is an important element of the curriculum, including field trips into the community for children in the 4's, 4/5's and kindergarten classes. This trip offered the opportunity to observe the St. Joseph River and the beautiful sculpture "Keeper of the Fire."

Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) - NAEYC Accredited and licensed preschool, kindergarten and child care program located on the campuses of Saint Mary's College and the University of Notre Dame.

Mission ECDC implements early childhood "Best Practices" that foster the children`s healthy social, emotional, physical, cognitive and creative development.

ECDC`s active learning environment fosters the development of respect, responsibility, resourcefulness and responsiveness and includes highly qualified teachers, low teacher child ratios, child centered emergent curriculum and collaborations with families.

ECDC is a model program for professional development, college student practicum experiences and research for faculty and students.

Quick Facts (2026)

Top-Ranked IN School
School Type: Early Childhood / Day Care
Grades: Prekindergarten-Kindergarten
Enrollment: 291 students
Average class size: 20 students
Application Deadline: None / Rolling
Source: Verified school update

Top Rankings

Early Childhood Develop Center ranks among the top 20% of private schools in Indiana for:

School Overview

School Type

Early Childhood / Day Care

School Membership(s)School Assoc.

National Association for the Education of Young Children

Religious Affiliation

Nonsectarian

Grades Offered

Grades Prekindergarten-Kindergarten

Year Founded

1974

Summer School Offered

Yes

School Calendar

Student Body

Total Students

291 students

Student Body Type

Co-ed

% Students of Color

38%

State avg.: 26%

Students by Grade

Academics and Faculty

Total Classroom Teachers

3 teachers

Average Class Size

20 students

Tuition and Acceptance Rate

Admission Deadline

None / Rolling

Application URL

Sports

Total Sports Offered

2 sports

Sports

GymnasticsSoccer

School Notes

Located on the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's campuses in South Bend, IN. ECDC is a NAEYC accredited, non-profit early childhood program serving 300 children ages 2 years through kindergarten with a staff of 45 professionals. ECDC at Notre Dame serves approx. 175 children enrolled with a combination of full time and part times schedules, ages 2 through kindergarten in 6 classrooms. ECDC at Saint Mary's serves approx. 125 children enrolled with a combination of full time and part time schedules ages 3 through 5 years in 4 preschool classrooms. Both ECDC programs are housed in bright and welcoming spaces providing state of the art early childhood experiences fostering a love of learning while developing competent, confident learners. ECDC serves diverse populations of families in the Notre Dame, Saint Mary's and South Bend communities. ECDC at Saint Mary's is open to the public while ECDC at Notre Dame only serves families affiliated with the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College. For over 35 years, ECDC has earned its stellar reputation for excellence with a dedicated and skilled group of professional teachers, involved families and college students in a vibrant community. Both ECDC programs offer a summer day camp program rich with recreational activities and natural world learning experiences for children through age ten. For more information, please visit the ECDC website at www.nd.edu/~ ecdcnd or call ECDC-ND at 574-631-3344 or ECDC-SMC at 574-284-4693

Source: Verified school update

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Frequently Asked Questions

What schools are Early Childhood Develop Center often compared to?

Early Childhood Develop Center is often viewed alongside schools like The Montessori Academy At Edison Lakes by visitors of our site.

What sports does Early Childhood Develop Center offer?

Early Childhood Develop Center offers 2 interscholastic sports: Gymnastics and Soccer.

What is Early Childhood Develop Center's ranking?

Early Childhood Develop Center ranks among the top 20% of private schools in Indiana for: Largest student body.

When is the application deadline for Early Childhood Develop Center?

The application deadline for Early Childhood Develop Center is rolling (applications are reviewed as they are received year-round).

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Quick Facts (2026)

Top-Ranked IN School
School Type: Early Childhood / Day Care
Grades: Prekindergarten-Kindergarten
Enrollment: 291 students
Average class size: 20 students
Application Deadline: None / Rolling
Source: Verified school update

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Did You Know?

The average private school tuition in St. Joseph County, IN is $8,023 for elementary schools (read more about average private school tuition across the country).

The average acceptance rate in St. Joseph County, IN is 83% (read more about average acceptance rates across the country).