Ratings, services and a phone number for every preschool in Tennessee.
What a featured listing costs · from $29 a month
Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville is a nonprofit nature park with 10 miles of trails, bike and canoe rental, and a Nature Preschool. The preschool is an experiential,…
The Downtown Family YMCA in Chattanooga is a full-service Y that has served the community for 150 years, with child care and education programs alongside fitness. Families can…
The Cleveland Family YMCA, now the Ocoee Foundation YMCA, is a branch of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga at 220 Urbane Rd in Cleveland, with a wellness center,…
Morning Star Child Development Center has served Knoxville families since 1990 from 10614 Flickenger Lane. The program is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, with teachers who observe…
Academy of Harpeth Village is a locally owned preschool and child care center in Nashville, part of The Academy group with 17 locations across Middle Tennessee. Its programs…
On Thompsons Ridge Road, The Academy of Heritage Commons serves families in Thompson's Station and Spring Hill with child care and preschool from infancy through Pre K. The…
Every school begins as a public Google Maps record filed under Preschool in Tennessee.
Schools with at least one review and a record updated in the past year stay. Duplicates are merged.
Ages, Pre-K, subsidies, meals and hours come from the school's own words, not from guesses.
When a school does not say, its page shows no information yet, never a yes or a no we made up.
Every school here started as a Google Maps record filed under Preschool somewhere in Tennessee. We kept the ones that are open, have at least one parent review and were updated in the past year, merged duplicates, and removed a handful whose own websites showed they run a dance studio, a gym or an after-school camp instead of a preschool.
Then we read each school's own website for the things parents ask about first: the ages it takes, whether it runs a Pre-K class, whether it accepts child care subsidies, whether it lists tuition or keeps a waitlist, meals, early drop-off and late pickup, summer camp and any accreditation. A program is marked yes only when the school says so in its own words. Many schools say little online, so a blank on a listing means the school has not told us yet, and a call will answer it.
Owners can claim a listing to correct details or add photos. A person checks every claim. Published by Little Compass Guides.
Start with your child's age, because it rules out more schools than anything else. Some Tennessee preschools take babies from six weeks old and keep them through Pre-K. Others start at two or three and run half-day classes. Each listing here shows whether a school takes infants and toddlers and whether it runs a Pre-K class, so you can cut the list down before you make a single call.
The Tennessee Department of Human Services licenses child care centers and homes that care for five or more unrelated children, and its licensing staff visit each one at least four times a year. Every licensed provider gets a yearly report card, which has to be posted with its license, so ask to see it when you visit. Providers can also join the voluntary Star-Quality Child Care Program, which rates them from zero to three stars. Zero means the provider meets the minimum rules, and three is the highest quality level. A school with fewer than three stars can still give excellent care, so treat the rating as one clue among several. You can look up any licensed provider, with its compliance history and inspection reports, in the state's own child care search at onedhs.tn.gov.
If your family needs help with the cost, Tennessee's Child Care Certificate Program helps Families First participants and other qualifying families pay for care. Families apply through the Department of Human Services, online or at a local DHS office, and the school has to take part in the program for the certificate to work there. Look for "Accepts child care subsidies" on a listing, and confirm it on the phone before you enroll. If your child turns four by August 15, ask your public school district about Voluntary Pre-K, a state-funded class for four-year-olds that gives priority to economically disadvantaged children. Head Start and Early Head Start are free federal programs for eligible families: Early Head Start for children up to age three and Head Start for ages three to five.
Most schools say little about tuition online, so ask for the weekly or monthly rate and what it includes. Ask whether there is a waitlist and how long it usually runs. Ask about hours, and whether early drop-off or late pickup costs extra. Ask whether meals and snacks are provided or packed from home, and what the day looks like: play-based, Montessori, Reggio Emilia or a set curriculum. If summer matters, ask whether the school runs a summer camp for current families.
Tour two or three schools in the same week so the comparison is fresh. Watch how teachers talk to the children, how clean the rooms are and whether the posted report card matches what you see. A short list built from this directory, a phone call and one visit each will tell you more than any rating on its own.
Every school starts as a public Google Maps record filed under Preschool in Tennessee. We keep schools that are open, have at least one review and were updated in the past year, then read each school's own website for its ages, programs and hours. A program is marked yes only when the school says so itself.
No. This directory does not check licenses. The Tennessee Department of Human Services licenses child care centers, and you can look up any licensed provider, with its compliance history, in the state's child care search at onedhs.tn.gov.
The Star-Quality Child Care Program is voluntary and rates providers from zero to three stars. Zero means the provider meets the minimum licensing rules, one or two stars means it goes beyond them, and three stars is the highest quality level. A provider with fewer than three stars can still offer high-quality care.
Look for "Accepts child care subsidies" on a listing, or open the statewide subsidies page. Tennessee's Child Care Certificate Program helps qualifying families pay for care, families apply through the Department of Human Services, and the school must take part in the program. Confirm with the school before you enroll.
Voluntary Pre-K is a state-funded class for four-year-olds who turn four on or before August 15, offered through public school districts, with priority for economically disadvantaged children. Ask your district about eligibility. Private preschools that run their own Pre-K classes set their own tuition.
It means the school has not said, on its own website, whether it offers that program. It is not a no. Call the school to ask, and if you run the school, claim the listing to fill in the blanks.
No. A basic listing is free and stays free. Schools can pay for a featured position or a premium listing, and those are marked wherever they appear.