Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth & Learning

Office of Children, Youth, and LearningAbout

The Office of Children, Youth, and Learning (OCYL) is a one-of-a-kind education center that supports children and youth as they learn, grow, and achieve their fullest potential. Our mission is to help foster a comprehensive learning environment for the first two decades of their lives. Our mission is to help foster a comprehensive learning environment for the first two decades of their lives.

At OCYL, we believe that the out of schooltime hours and preschool years provide an invaluable opportunity for each child to engage and explore in their own learning through unique, enriching educational programs.

OCYL is committed to supporting the development of life-long skills necessary to succeed: collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, social-emotional awareness, and a sense of community.

Early Childhood Education Program 

OCYL’s unique early childhood classes are joyful, dynamic, and developmentally appropriate, with play as a key ingredient for learning.

OCYL teachers purposefully support all children during self-guided discovery, construction of knowledge, and development of skills utilizing a curriculum that aligns with RI Early Learning & Development Standards. During class time, teachers also intentionally support each child’s development of language, cognition, social/emotional, and motor skills. Formative assessments are utilized by the teaching teams throughout the school year to aid in measuring children’s progress and to inform teaching and learning of specific early learning goals.

Teachers are responsible for creating a safe and nurturing environment. All adults in the classroom strive to nurture each child’s potential through positive, developmentally appropriate interactions that promote self-confidence and motivation to learn.

Teachers communicate with families as partners in their child’s education and development and are open to finding answers to questions from families while respecting children’s varying learning styles and home environments. All Lead Teachers, Teacher Assistants, OCYL Staff and Volunteers act professionally in the classroom/building and when interacting with families to create a joyful place for learning and growing, as we strive to serve all children and their families in our community.

Early Childhood Sessions Offered

  1. School Year Session

OCYL’s Literacy and Number Sense classes are taught by experienced teachers and assistants. Class includes circle time, learning centers (where children explore and play) and teacher led activities in a 2-hour preschool setting. Students are assigned to Level A or B class.

Literacy Classes

Children learn literacy skills through a targeted curriculum that includes songs, poems, circle time, literacy centers, small and whole group activities, and read-alouds. Children engage in play and activities that are related to phonological awareness, alphabet  knowledge, print knowledge, comprehension, reading and writing.  

Number Sense Classes

Children learn math concepts through games, circle time, songs, learning centers, whole group activities and everyday math related experiences and problem solving. Children engage in play and activities that are related to number recognition, counting, and using  numbers and language to compare quantities. Sorting, patterning, shapes, measurement, graphing, and number formation are included in the curriculum.


  1. Seasonal Classes
  1. Summer Session

Additional Programming

  1. Early Childhood Education

About

Early Childhood EducationEarly Childhood Education is where children engage in essential early learning experiences.

Our classes are unique, joyful, dynamic, skills-based, and developmentally appropriate. The curriculum, aligned with the RI Early Learning and Development Standards, provides exploration and practice, and measures children's progress toward specific learning goals. The classes also help develop language, social/emotional, cognitive, and motor skills.

Details

  • Ages: 0 to 5
  • School Year and Summer Classes: Ages 3 to 5, Literacy and Number Sense
  • Seasonal: 8-Week Classes and Lunch/Class Combos: Preschool Science, Music and Movement, Preschool Process Art, and Little STEAMers, Parent/Child Music and Movement
  1. STEAMShop
  1. Backpack to Briefcase
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