About Us

New Bedford Children believes that the true purpose of early childhood education is to support the child’s whole development toward becoming active and engaged members of our society. Our primary objective is to instill a life-long love of learning in New Bedford children.

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We believe that schools for young children should be more than the simple “daycares,” as they are often perceived to be, and can offer more than just preparing them for primary school. We believe children’s experiences at school should be rich with complexity so as to promote deep thinking and learning.

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Our work is deeply grounded in research, especially in the fields of child development and neuroscience. We are inspired by the work of John Dewey, Francis and David Hawkins, Lev Vygotsky, the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy and more. We believe children learn best through real life experiences and through relationships with others. Social emotional learning is of the upmost importance to us. We believe in the importance of anti-racist and anti-bias practices both inside and outside the classroom.

 

We believe that children’s’ school experiences are important to our community as a whole. To invest in early childhood is to invest in our city, in our families, our people, and in both our future and our present. We believe it is the responsibility of our community, not just parents, to generate and facilitate these rich learning opportunities for our youngest citizens.

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It is inherent in our philosophy that we grow with the New Bedford community and adapt to serve this beautiful community. Consequently our strategies and goals will change over time to meet the needs of the people in our city. However, no matter what, New Bedford Children is here to partner with the New Bedford community to promote and ensure every child’s right to a high-quality early childhood education.