Early Childhood Development Center

The Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC), a not-for-profit organization, provides the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College and the South Bend/Mishawaka communities with high quality, NAEYC Accredited early care and education for young children and their families. ECDC implements Best Practices that foster the children’s healthy social, emotional, physical, cognitive and creative development. ECDC’s active learning environment fosters the development of respect, responsibility, resourcefulness and responsiveness and includes highly qualified teachers, low teacher child ratios, child centered emergent curriculum and collaborations with families. ECDC is a model program for professional development, college student practicum experiences and research for faculty and students. ECDC, founded in 1971, is a nonprofit, licensed child care center partially funded by Saint Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame. ECDC provides both full and part time programs for children in the Saint Mary's College and the University of Notre Dame community. Since the fall of 1994, ECDC operates two sites, one on the campus of Saint Mary’s College (ECDC-SMC) and the other on the campus of the University of Notre Dame (ECDC-ND). Both sites are governed by one Board of Directors and operate with the same philosophy, curriculum, parent involvement and college student involvement. The ECDC teachers are educated and experienced in child development and early childhood education.