Early Education & Youth Development
Click Here to Register & Complete a Pre-K Application
For our children, our services include a daily preschool enrichment program and academic focused after-school program. We partner with the School District of Philadelphia, Public Health Management Corporation and Department of Human Services to ensure the best education in a healthy environment for our children.
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Improvement in reading for Kindergarten through 3rd Grade
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Students experiencing academic gains in reading for grade K-7th
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Students experiencing academic gains in math for grades K-7th
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Students improved behavioral grades
Early Education
Preschool at Mercy begins as early as 2.5 years old, with a focus on fine motor skills, site word development, reading comprehension and smooth transition to Kindergarten. We believe that early success in a child’s learning provides confidence and skills needed for the future. Our goal is to create a positive and enthusiastic attitude toward learning. For both our Mercy Family Center (Tioga) and Mercy at Face to Face (Germantown) preschool locations, we are a Keystone STARS Level 4 organization – the highest level of accreditation for childcare in the State of Pennsylvania. Our Tioga location serves 80 preschoolers, while our Germantown location currently serves 42 students with the capacity for 60.
Head Start, Pre-K Counts and CCIS funding is available for qualified parents to remove any cost barriers and bridge the gap for families looking for quality preschool programming.
Mercy Out-of-School Time Programming
Our daily after-school programming – ranked a Top 50 Out-of-School Time program in the city – serves over 75 students in Pre-K through 8th grade. Each day, students have a dedicated amount of time for homework help and participate in a workshop or lesson in a specialty area like STEM, the arts or athletics/soccer. STEM lessons – ran by our partner SPARLmakers – takes a holistic approach with very hands-on activities that combine real-life applications to teach concepts and skills in science, technology, engineering and math. In continuing to offer activities that help the development of the whole child, we introduced physical education & athletics to our programming in late 2019, with soccer clinics led by our friends at the Starfinder Foundation.
In the summer, we offer a 9-10 week long, full-day enrichment program that focuses on building and retaining skills learned during the school year, while also providing unique experiences within our regions.
Admission Policy
Mercy Neighborhood Ministries admits children from the age of 3 through 13 without regard to race, culture, sex, religion, national origin, disability, religion or ancestry. When the parent or legal guardian of a child identifies that a child has special needs, the child care director and parent or legal guardian will meet to review the child’s care requirements. Mercy Neighborhood Ministries does not discriminate on the basis of special needs as long as a safe, supportive environment can be provided for the child.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “Head Start”?
Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensiveearly childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.
Who is eliglible for Head Start?
Children from birth to age five who are from families with incomes below the poverty guidelines are eligible for Head Start and Early Head Start services. Children from homeless families, and families receiving public assistance such as TANF or SSI are also eligible.