Potomac Early Learning Center

Welcome to Potomac Early Learning Center. Our goal is to provide a safe, secure environment for your child that fosters physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. Parents, as a child’s first and most important teachers, are a crucial part of our program. We hope to develop a partnership between home and school which benefits the development and growth of each child. Potomac Early Learning Center is located in the heart of downtown La Plata. It is convenient to the district court and government buildings surrounding it, and is easily accessible from Routes 6 and 301. Although located downtown, our children enjoy a huge, entirely fenced, half-acre playground with green grass, a huge shade tree, slides, swings, and picnic tables. Our hours are 6:30 am through 6:00 pm, Monday thru Friday, with minimal closings throughout the year. Our ample parking lot is convenient for drop-offs and pick-ups. Our on-site notary makes the introductory paperwork a breeze for busy working parents. We accept VISA and MasterCard debit and credit cards for easy tuition payments as well as traditional payments by check, money order or cash. Detailed year-end statements will be provided for your tax preparation needs. For the convenience of busy, working families, Potomac Early Learning Center provides all meals and snacks with the price of tuition—breakfast, lunch, and two snacks each day. And parents can rest assured their children are getting their daily nutritional requirements in the form of healthy, high-quality, USDA-approved meals and snacks. Our Preschool Program Our preschool program prepares children socially and academically, as well as, supports and encourages the development of independence, responsibility, and confidence, all of which are essential for the child’s ongoing success in kindergarten. Our educational program focuses on each child’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development by offering concrete, hands-on activities for the child to explore. The preschool curriculum is designed to actively engage each child in developmentally age appropriate activities exploring the content areas of literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and technology. Our skilled teachers prepare curriculum that is exciting and challenging, as well as supportive of each child's own learning style. Our preschool room arrangement creates the optimum learning environment. It allows children easy access to educational toys, materials, and books, enabling them to initiate and expand their activities. Each classroom is organized with areas for block play, manipulative toys, artistic creativity, dramatic play, and reading in addition to larger spaces for group activities. Our Employees All employees here at Potomac Early Learning Center are highly skilled individuals who have completed approved training and met experience requirements necessary to be certified by the Maryland Office of Child Care. In addition employees have been carefully screened and selected for their warm and nurturing dispositions and for their demonstrated understanding of child development. We seek employees who value working as a team with both parents and colleagues. Continuing education is an important part of working at Potomac Early Learning Center. Each staff member attends workshops in child development and teaching methods each year. All of our staff members are required to complete an extensive criminal background investigation and medical evaluation prior to hire. All teachers are qualified and have completed infant and child CPR and First Aid.