Early Learning Center

The new 30,000-square-foot facility provides a secure, welcoming, and joyful envi¬ronment that supports learning, development, and well-being for three and four-year-olds. Owned and operated by the public school district, the facility will also serve as a feeder school to boost district enrollment for years to come. The building’s secure entrance supplies clear sites lines to bus and parent drop-off lanes. Ten classrooms for 16-20 students each form the building’s north and south perimeters. Each classroom shares a restroom and storage room with the adjacent classroom. An alcove gives teachers flexibility for small-group instruction. Outside the classroom, alternative learning spaces include daylit learning pods and a play studio. A daylit multi-purpose play space forms the building’s nucleus. Playful casework delineates the north edge of this space and provides storage for teachers and discovery for students. To the south, floor-to-ceiling windows visually connect the multi-purpose space to the exterior play porch and playground. These spaces are activated with colors and patterns inspired by tulip fields of the Netherlands, a nod to the town’s rich Dutch heritage. The building uses multiple daylighting strategies—clerestory, skylights, and windows—with varying treatments to admit filtered light.