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The Early Learning Center
At Packer’s Early Learning Center, we believe that children are competent and capable co-constructors of their own learning.
Our early childhood program—Pre-K Threes, Pre-K Fours, and Kindergarten—fosters a foundational love of learning through a student-centered, evidence-based approach. Teachers design playful, rich opportunities for inquiry, exploration, investigation, and the development of skills that encourage students to think deeply and build meaningful connections. The program nurtures social-emotional growth, celebrates community and belonging, and introduces concepts of equity, inclusion, and sustainability in age-appropriate ways.
Kindergarteners continue to engage through play and are introduced to academic routines in literacy, math, science, and social studies, preparing them for the Lower School journey ahead.
The Early Learning Center is a place where everyone is valued, challenged, celebrated for their strengths, and supported as they grow.
At-a-Glance
The purpose-built Early Learning Center at 100 Clinton Street serves our 3, 4, and 5 year olds.
Our Pre-K Threes and Pre-K Fours classrooms each have three full-time teachers. Each of our Kindergarten classrooms has two teachers. Designated literacy and math coordinators and small class sizes ensure individualized attention. Specialty classes in dance, music, studio art, physical education, science, library, and health education (beginning in Kindergarten) enhance and expand children's learning.
The Early Learning Center provides a material-rich environment. Every classroom has its own library and several areas for making and creating. Children have ample daily outdoor time.
Daily Schedule
Classes follow a 7-day rotating cycle.
Pre-K Threes: 9am to 1:30pm (classroom opens 8:45am, no early drop off, optional extended day until 2:55pm)
Pre-K Fours: 9am to 2:55pm (early drop off free of charge begins at 8am)
Kindergarten: 9am to 3pm (early drop off free of charge begins at 8am and Afterschool options available)
![Portrait of Zoe Hillman]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1662493009/packer/vkeqj4yzkp7rhwl8nsrj/hillmanzoe-9officialCC700.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1662493009/packer/vkeqj4yzkp7rhwl8nsrj/hillmanzoe-9officialCC700.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1662493009/packer/vkeqj4yzkp7rhwl8nsrj/hillmanzoe-9officialCC700.jpg","width":700}])
Meet Zoë Hillman (she/her)
Head of Preschool and Lower School
I have a tendency to want to move quickly and it is important to cherish small moments and take time reflect, look deeply, uncover complexity, and enjoy the here and now. Particularly working with such little children, we are sometimes eager to look ahead and want time to pass to reach the next age and stage, but truly each developmental step has its own joys that should be savoured.
Packer+ Afterschool
For students in K-12, we offer a variety of after-school options and enrichment classes that run until at least 6:00 pm each day through our Packer+ Auxiliary Programs.
About the Space
The Early Learning Center opened in 2018 at 100 Clinton Street, one block from our main building. Affectionately known as “Little Packer,” our youngest learners benefit from purpose-built classrooms filled with light and natural and reclaimed materials. The Early Learning Center features an Innovation Lab, an Atelier art studio, and a rooftop play space. The building was the first preschool in New York to feature a high-performance “Passive House” construction, which supports Packer's commitment to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint over time.