About Us
Commitment to Care
Irving Park Early Learning Center has been committed to caring for children in the Irving Park, Ravenswood, and Albany Park communities for 20 years. Established in 1999 by Rose Ocasio, B.A.Ed., ECE, a mother and entrepreneur; she recognized a need for high-quality childcare in her neighborhood that not only provides a friendly, safe space but a fun and nurturing learning environment. Her dedication to providing excellent, loving care is at the core of IPELC. She says when the children learn to trust her and her staff and feel confident and happy in their classrooms – “that’s her greatest achievement.”
We strongly believe the foundation for learning is best laid by creating a balance between a structured learning experience and free play chosen by the child. IPELC’s goal is to nurture “the whole child” in areas of physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. We do this by encouraging our students to explore and discover at his or her own pace while providing a variety of developmentally-appropriate activities.
Our highly-qualified teachers and staff are devoted to their work with our young children and their families. They undergo regular training and certification to grow their skills right along with their students. Our daily schedule includes: reading readiness, story-time, math, science, art, self-selected activity time, Spanish, music, dramatic play, dance, and creative movement. Our curriculum is focused on helping our infants reach their milestones and preparing our preschoolers for school.
Our Guiding Philosophy:
Through play, children learn about themselves, their environment, other people, and the world around them. Where we differ from the Montessori Method is that we believe play is critical to a child’s healthy growth and development. Both solitary and social play is necessary. When a child plays alone with a building toy, he develops independence, self-sufficiency and persistence. When he plays with the same toy with others, the child acquires important social skills such as cooperation, negotiation, sharing, empathy, turn-taking, and playing by the rules. Play in early childhood is the best foundation for success in school.
We have 2 locations in Chicago:
3023 W. Montrose & 3000 W. Montrose – both offer the same state-certified, multicultural, infant, toddler, and preschool childcare. We accept children from 6 weeks to 5 years old. Our hours of operation are 6:30am to 6:00pm every weekday for ages 2 and up and 7:00am to 6:00pm for infants and toddlers.
