foundational learning

Many people are excited about Northern Door Children’s Center and Gibraltar Area Schools forming a community collaboration in Fall 2022 to provide 4-year-old kindergarten, but learning at Northern Door Children’s Center begins far earlier than that. From the earliest days when an infant becomes part of our Center family, we provide stimulating and age-appropriate activities to nurture both a child’s mind and body. We foster social and emotional growth of the children and provide tools to their parents to help strengthen their families. We serve Door County’s youngest and most precious residents.

One of the wonderfully unique things about Northern Door Children’s Center is our infant/toddler looping program. Brain development researchers tell us that a consistent and secure attachment to primary early childhood teachers allows for maximum brain development in infants and young children. For the first three years of life at the Center, children are grouped together by age and assigned to a team of teachers that will remain with them for the entire infant and toddler experience. This creates a secure attachment to primary teachers and provides an opportunity for these young minds to grow and thrive.

When children are ready to graduate into the Center’s 3-year-old kindergarten program, one of the looping teachers accompanies the “loop” into the 3K classroom and remains with them as a part of the 3K team until the children are settled in and completely comfortable with their new learning environment.

This $3.6 million campaign is an essential ingredient to allowing our growing population of children to continue to thrive. Phase I was the construction of a $1.2 million 4K wing, which is complete thanks to the generosity of a $1 million lead gift. Phase II is a $2.4 million project that expands and better utilizes existing space by providing new infant exploration space to foster brain development, reconfiguring and expanding crib areas creating more efficient use of toddler space, and offering resource and preparation space for the 3K classroom.

Your gift will help provide the foundational learning that makes future learning possible.