Quick Facts

  • Ages: 2 years to kindergarten entry
  • Hours: 7:30am to 6:00pm
  • Staff-to-child ratio: 1 to 6
  • Enrollment capacity: 24
  • Lunch and snacks served daily
Site Supervisor: Erica Evans

Assistant Director: Melissa Momand

555 Waverley Avenue
(650) 321-9578

Downtown Children's Center

At Downtown Children's Center (DCC) we believe that young children learn best through play and child-initiated activities. Our caring staff provides our children with an abundance of respect and love, creating an environment in which the children can freely explore and learn.

Our primary goals are to help children learn to work cooperatively with others, foster a sense of independence in each child and confidence in their own abilities.

Center Activities

We are centrally located in downtown Palo Alto which is a great resource for our children at DCC. We are able to participate in various educational trips to local businesses such as Borders Bookstore, California Pizza Kitchen, and the Junior Museum. We also enjoy regular trips to Heritage and Johnson Parks.

We create learning opportunities through hands-on experiences taking our direction from the interests of the children. We have daily focus groups which meet for small group activities with an emphasis on the needs of each group's age/developmental level. We also offer weekly cooking and science projects, as well as bi-weekly music and movement classes.

Parent Involvement and Participation

It is very important to the staff of DCC to develop partnerships with families in order to best meet the individual needs of the children. Parents are always welcome to visit and participate in our daily activities.

We regularly communicate our center happenings through our monthly newsletter and host several potluck events during the year in order to maintain a sense of community among the children, staff and families.