Early Learning Center

Hours & Schedule

The Auraria Early Learning Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

The ELC is closed on all major holidays, including the day before and after Thanksgiving, and 5 in-service/professional development days each year (specific dates vary). The center is also closed during Winter Break (December 24-January 1) and Spring Break (March 18-22).

To schedule a tour and learn more about what the AELC can offer your child, email Rachel Ruiz.
 

AELC

The Auraria Early Learning Center (AELC), a 5-star Colorado Shines-rated center, provides full- time programs for children 12-months and independently walking to 5-years-old. The center serves the students, faculty, and staff of the Auraria Campus. On a space-available basis, the center also serves the Denver community. All of the center's programs are fully licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services.

What will you discover at the AELC?

• Highly qualified teachers, educational specialists, and support staff who are experts in the field of early childhood education.
• Full- and part-time programs with healthy meals and snacks included.
• Located conveniently on the Auraria Campus in LoDo.
• Individualized teaching with an emphasis on cultivating children’s sense of wonder and discovery. 
• Small classroom setting with a low child-to-teacher ratio. 
• Balanced, high-quality curriculum that introduces foundational subjects, including reading & literacy, math, science, and social studies. 
• A program that supports and extends social-emotional development with opportunities for self-expression through language, art, and dramatic play.

Learn more about our fun, supportive, and engaging environment. Email Rachel Ruiz to schedule a tour!

Philosophy

The AELC believes children learn through play and discovery. The AELC instills learning by ensuring the environment is rich in developmentally appropriate materials and activities that nurture exploration and growth in physical abilities, language, literacy, cognitive skills, math, science, social studies, the arts, dramatic play, and social-emotional skills.

The AELC Believes in Empowering the Growth of Each Child by: 

• Assigning children to primary caregivers and ensuring continuity of care
• Providing warm, attuned interactions between adults and children
• Furnishing well-planned and thought-out daily schedules, transitions, activities, and environments
• Using careful observation and assessment as the basis for communicating and interacting with children, for planning based on the interests and uniqueness of each child, and for fostering communication and connections with families

The AELC Believes in Building Community With Families

Building relationships provides a strong foundation for community, learning, and personal growth. The AELC nurtures relationships by connecting with children, families, and each other on a personal level, and by taking time for reflective practice. Each child, family, and staff member is unique. The AELC respects that uniqueness by listening carefully, communicating clearly, and encouraging partnership.

The AELC Believes in Anti-Bias Education

Families come in different constellations including single parent families, same-sex families, extended families, blended families, two-parent working families, foster families, and adoptive families with a variety of subgroups including racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic. As a core value, the AELC creates a culture where members seek to acknowledge, share, and nurture diversity in the community. The Auraria Early Learning Center is committed to cultivating an anti-bias community. We believe that each family deserves to feel welcomed and included as a member of our center community. We are committed to the inclusion and belonging of different perspectives and establishing a common ground of mutual respect.

Colorado Shines

The Auraria Early Learning Center has been named a Level 5 program, the highest possible rating by Colorado Shines, the state’s quality rating improvement system for licensed child care and preschool programs. Colorado Shines evaluates licensed child care and preschool programs on a scale of 1-5 based on how each organization works to:

• support children’s health and safety
• ensure their early childhood professionals are well-trained and effective
• provide a supportive learning environment that teaches children new skills
• help parents become partners in their child’s learning
• demonstrate strong leadership and business practices