The Early Childhood Development and Education Center is committed to providing high-quality, early childhood education for the young children, state-of-the-art therapeutic early intervention services (speech language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy), nursing services, infant and child mental health services.
For Parents and Families
At the Early Childhood Development and Education Center, we strongly believe that parents, families and caregivers should play an integral role in their children’s treatment and care. We are committed to working closely with you and other caregivers to provide you with information and training on how you can best foster your child’s early education and developmental progress. We are also aware that many parents are struggling with the multiple challenges of raising children with special needs while, at the same time, meeting the needs of other family members. All of our programs offer counseling, information and assistance in obtaining services for you and your child and assistance in helping your child transition to other programs when they leave the Early Childhood Development and Education Center.
Philosophy of Care
We believe all children learn best through intentional play, family engagement, individualized instruction, and consistent routines delivered within a culturally relevant environment that supports the whole child. We are confident that innovative, integrated, and inclusive education is the key to advancing each child’s growth.
We believe a skilled workforce and strong community partnerships are critical to creating learning environments where science informs practices, relational approaches, and trauma-responsive care are standard—in a variety of early childhood education settings, including Early Head Start, child care programs, and preschool/pre-K classrooms—will help both children and professionals thrive.
Early Childhood Development and Education Center Programs
World of Care
World of Care (WOC) is a child care program accredited by Maryland Excels with a Quality Rating of 5. It offers developmentally appropriate educational programming for children with and without disabilities who may have medical needs and/or developmental delays and may require on-site, early intervention therapeutic services. The WOC team includes early childhood educators, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social worker, family advocate, and registered nurses. All staff members support individualized development, education, and healthcare plans through an integrated service model, WOC teacher-child ratios meet or exceed standard regulations, which ensures the program can meet the care needs of every child—including children with high nursing needs—in an inclusive setting.
Early Learning Classrooms
The Early Learning Classrooms at Kennedy Krieger Institute: Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Early Learning Classrooms (ELC) comprise a unique learning center that provides comprehensive, family-centered education to children ages 3 to 5. Our Pre-K classrooms are accredited by Maryland Excels with a Quality Rating of 5 and offer an inclusive environment where both typically developing children and children who are neurodivergent can learn together. The ELC team includes early childhood educators, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social worker, family advocate, and registered nurses. The goal of our curriculum is to improve the social, emotional, functional and behavioral outcomes of our students while closing the achievement gaps experienced by young children from different backgrounds or with developmental disabilities.
Southeast Early Head Start
Southeast Early Head Start (SEEHS): Southeast Early Head Start is a federally funded Head Start program serving children zero to three years of age and their families. Our team of early childhood educators, infant mental health specialists, family advocates and early interventionists uses attachment-based and trauma-response models of care designed to support very young children whose families are experiencing a variety of high-risk factors, such as community trauma, interpersonal violence, housing instability and recovery from addiction, as well as challenges faced by families for whom English is not the primary language spoken in the home. Our inclusive programing occurs within a high-quality early childhood education setting. The program also provides extensive training and coaching in several evidence-based models of care rooted in attachment theory to increase access to workforce skill development for early childhood providers—and thereby support for families—across the state.