Stanford's Philosophy for On-site Child Care Programs
Stanford understands the value of a good education. We also know that academics aren’t everything. To enjoy a fulfilling life, you need community, connection, social skills, and to have fun!
The research agrees. Children who engage in high-quality play experiences are more likely to have well-developed memory skills, language development, and behavior regulation.
Our guiding principles include building strong teacher-child relationships and providing a play-based learning environment that encourages developmentally appropriate, inclusive, and creative experiences to help children navigate day-to-day challenges. These principles are essential to the social-emotional development that lays the foundation for lifelong learning, and prove most critical for children up to age five.
Our Values
- Excellence in education: We value evidence-based, experiential learning and prepare young people to be lifelong learners, problem solvers, and future leaders. Our educators are engaged, culturally sensitive, and knowledgeable about current research in child development. They offer activities that engage curiosity, promote investigation, and build meaningful parent partnerships.
- Respectful learning environments: We treat all people with respect. We embrace educational environments with varied approaches to teaching and learning that have a common thread of high-quality, early childhood programming. We are fully committed to broad representation in our community and to supporting all children in reaching their fullest potential.
- Safety and well-being: We maintain the highest health and safety standards for all children in our programs. We facilitate a culture of well-being and encourage exercise and nutrition as daily practices.
Family engagement: We strive to support families to be positive influencers and advocates for children, families and the community.
We support Stanford families by providing flexible care schedules and multiple locations across campus. We foster diverse, inclusive parent/community relationships and seek to make a positive difference in the lives of children, their families, and the world.
Our Commitment to Affordability and Access
For over 50 years, Stanford has worked to expand access to child care by creating partnerships with community-based child care operators. Stanford has built a solid early education program, becoming one of the largest national child care providers among higher-education institutions and Bay Area employers.
Stanford strives to address the trilemma that exists in child care where accessibility, quality, and affordability form the essential pillars. Much like a three-legged stool, each of these elements must be in balance to provide a stable, equitable foundation for early childhood experiences.
Stanford provides operators with rent-free facilities and subsidized utility costs so tuition can be directly applied to the quality of care. By using sustainable business models, Stanford is able to provide the highest quality of child care at or below market rate, while keeping teacher salaries competitive.
We know that paying for child care can be challenging. Stanford offers several tuition assistance programs to help.
Financial Assistance Programs: