Our History

The Early Childhood Center at Memorial United Methodist Church was originally founded in 1959 as a preschool for Memorial United Methodist Church congregants. The Church was specifically designed and constructed with a wing intended to house a nursery school, so our space is very suitable for the preschool child.
We are a non-sectarian non-profit program and strive to create a diverse community. As such, we welcome children of all races, religions and nationalities.
For the first 31 years of our school’s history, we were a mornings-only program. In response to the changing needs of our families, the school sought a New York State Daycare License in 1990, allowing us to provide full-day care to our children, although we continued to end our day at 3pm. As the needs of our families continue to change, particularly those of working families, beginning with the 2014-2015 school year we will extend our hours to operate from 8am - 5pm.
Since the founding of the school, we have earned the respect of families in White Plains and the surrounding communities for our commitment to excellent child care. Most of our families come to us through word-of-mouth and we have even enrolled the children of parents who themselves are alumni of the program!
We are a non-sectarian non-profit program and strive to create a diverse community. As such, we welcome children of all races, religions and nationalities.
For the first 31 years of our school’s history, we were a mornings-only program. In response to the changing needs of our families, the school sought a New York State Daycare License in 1990, allowing us to provide full-day care to our children, although we continued to end our day at 3pm. As the needs of our families continue to change, particularly those of working families, beginning with the 2014-2015 school year we will extend our hours to operate from 8am - 5pm.
Since the founding of the school, we have earned the respect of families in White Plains and the surrounding communities for our commitment to excellent child care. Most of our families come to us through word-of-mouth and we have even enrolled the children of parents who themselves are alumni of the program!