Educare Lake County will serve 174 children, ages 6 weeks to 5-years-old, and their families in a state-of-the-art early learning school.
We are building the school between Shiloh Park and Zion Central Middle Schools at 1800 27th Street in Zion, IL.
Our programming will include:
Why Lake County?
In 2023, Start Early recognized a serious need for more accessible, affordable early education and child care in Lake County. With a focus on bringing more of these resources to the Lake County area, we began our journey towards building a brand-new state-of-the-art early learning school to help meet that need.
Start Early joined Lake County’s early childhood education and care community while Educare Lake County was still under construction by opening early learning centers in Waukegan and Beach Park in 2024. Today, Educare Lake County supports the unique needs of every child by providing safe, well-rounded, affordable child care to 174 families.
What We’ve Been Up To
Community Needs Assessment (2023) Start Early conducted a comprehensive community needs assessment in 2023 to better understand the demand for early childhood education in Lake County and identify gaps in access for families.
Community & Educator Input (Ongoing) Ongoing focus groups with Lake County community members, alongside conversations with teaching staff across the Educare Learning Network, ensure the program reflects local priorities, family voices, and best practices in early learning.
Local Partnerships (Ongoing) This effort is grounded in strong collaboration with key partners, including Cullen Construction Management, JGMA, Mortenson Construction, Zion Park District, the City of Zion, Zion Elementary School District 6 and more, working together to bring high-quality early learning opportunities to the community.
Interim Programming Launch (2024) To begin serving families right away, interim programming opened in Beach Park and Waukegan in 2024, with additional milestones in June 2024 and March 2025, expanding access while the permanent site is under development.
Groundbreaking (May 11, 2026) The groundbreaking marks a major milestone in bringing Educare Lake County to life, celebrating the collective effort of partners, families, and community leaders.
Lake County, Illinois is home to more than 48,488 children under age five.
These early years are a time of rapid growth that shape how children learn, build relationships and succeed later in life. Early experiences matter not only for children, but their families and communities, too. Every family, no matter their background, benefits from extra support while raising young children.
The Impact of Quality Early Learning
Every child deserves a strong start. Quality early learning programs help children build the skills and confidence they need to thrive in school and beyond while supporting families every step of the way. Research shows that children in these programs are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college.
History of the Educare Network
In 2000, Start Early and the Irving Harris Foundation opened the first Educare school, Educare Chicago, on the South Side of Chicago to serve children and families rebuilding their community after the demolition of the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the largest public housing developments in the country at the time.
After the success of the first school, Start Early partnered with the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, expanding Educare’s groundbreaking model to more communities that would benefit from quality early learning and care. Now, alongside other Educare Learning Network schools across the country, Educare Lake County will make quality early learning programming accessible to more little learners and their families.
About the Educare Model
Our use of the Educare Model includes everything proven research says young children need to flourish. We partner with families because learning doesn’t stop when children leave the classroom. We support the continued learning of our passionate teachers and staff because we want to empower them to do their best work. We use data and research to improve our schools because we’re committed to creating a lasting positive impact with every family we serve.
Based on four core principles, the Educare model has been shown to prepare children for kindergarten in multiple developmental categories:
- Intensive family engagement
- Continual professional development
- High-quality teaching practices
- Data utilization
Educare Lake County is the second Educare school directly operated by Start Early, along with Educare Chicago located in Chicago’s Grand Boulevard neighborhood.