About Us
🌟 Our Vision
At Great Beginnings Early Learning Center, our vision is to be the most trusted Christian early learning center in the Washington metropolitan area, where children are nurtured in a safe, loving environment and equipped with the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual foundation they need for lifelong success.
We believe that every child deserves a great beginning that leads to a great future.
🎯 Our Mission
Our mission is to partner with families in providing a high-quality, Christ-centered early childhood education that inspires children to learn, grow, and thrive.
We are committed to nurturing the whole child by fostering curiosity, confidence, creativity, and character through developmentally appropriate learning experiences that prepare children for kindergarten and beyond.
Every day, we strive to help children develop strong academic skills while modeling and encouraging Christian values such as love, compassion, kindness, honesty, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and respect for others.
Through meaningful play, hands-on exploration, and purposeful instruction, we create opportunities for every child to discover their unique gifts while building a lifelong love of learning.
👨🏾👩🏾👧🏾👦🏾 Who We Are
Great Beginnings Early Learning Center is a private, family-owned Christian nursery and preschool proudly serving Alexandria, Virginia, and the surrounding communities since June 1, 2009.
Licensed by the Virginia Department of Education, we provide exceptional care and early education for children 6 weeks through 5 years of age in a nurturing environment where every child is known, loved, and encouraged to reach their fullest potential.
Our classrooms are intentionally kept small to allow teachers to build meaningful relationships with each child and provide individualized support during these important early years.
Families from all backgrounds are welcomed into our school community. While our program is rooted in Christian values and includes daily prayer, Bible devotionals, and character education, we are committed to creating an atmosphere where every child feels respected, valued, and loved.
📚 Our Educational Philosophy
We believe children learn best through a balance of purposeful instruction, exploration, creativity, and play.
Our curriculum is built primarily upon the trusted A Beka Book® program and is enhanced with hands-on learning experiences that encourage children to explore, ask questions, solve problems, and discover the world around them.
Each day includes a variety of age-appropriate learning experiences such as:
- Bible lessons and Christian character development
- Language and literacy
- Early mathematics
- Science and discovery
- Art and creative expression
- Music and movement
- Sensory exploration
- Outdoor play
- Social-emotional learning
- Fine and gross motor development
As children progress through our preschool program, classroom instruction becomes increasingly focused on kindergarten readiness while continuing to nurture confidence, independence, and a genuine love of learning.
👩🏽🏫 Our Staff
Our greatest resource is our dedicated team of educators and caregivers.
Led by our Center Director, Ms. Annalisa Cook, our multicultural team is passionate about providing exceptional care while fostering strong relationships with children and their families.
Our teachers recognize that every child develops at their own pace and work diligently to create engaging, nurturing classrooms where children feel safe, encouraged, and excited to learn each day.
Communication with families is one of our highest priorities. Through the Brightwheel app, parents receive daily updates, photos, classroom communications, and important announcements. Teachers also communicate with families during drop-off and pick-up and participate in scheduled Parent-Teacher Conferences throughout the year to discuss each child’s growth and development.
Every member of our staff meets or exceeds Virginia Department of Education licensing requirements and completes ongoing professional development. Staff members maintain current certifications in First Aid, CPR, AED, and Daily Health Observation and successfully complete comprehensive background checks, fingerprinting, and all required child safety screenings before working with children.
🏫 Our Campus
Conveniently located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria at 618 N. Washington Street, our 7,800-square-foot facility has been thoughtfully designed to provide a safe, engaging, and welcoming environment for young learners.
Our campus features:
- Bright, age-appropriate classrooms
- A dedicated children’s library
- Secure entry for enhanced safety
- An outdoor playground with professional-grade synthetic turf and resilient safety surfacing
- Developmentally appropriate learning materials throughout every classroom
Every aspect of our learning environment is designed to encourage exploration, creativity, confidence, and independence while maintaining the highest standards of safety and cleanliness.
🤝 Our Partnership with Families
We believe parents are a child’s first and most important teachers.
At Great Beginnings, education is a partnership. We value open communication, mutual respect, and collaboration with every family we serve.
Together, we celebrate milestones, support each child’s individual needs, and build a strong foundation that prepares children not only for kindergarten—but for a lifetime of learning and success.
❤️ The Great Beginnings Difference
For more than 17 years, families have trusted Great Beginnings because we provide:
- A nurturing Christian environment rooted in love and respect
- Intentionally small classroom sizes
- Experienced and caring educators
- A comprehensive kindergarten readiness program
- Healthy meals and snacks included with tuition
- Year-round programs for infants through preschool
- Acceptance of state, local, and military childcare assistance programs
- Strong communication with families through Brightwheel
- A commitment to helping every child grow academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually
Our promise is simple: to provide every child with the strong foundation they deserve while treating each family as a valued part of the Great Beginnings community.
💬 Come Experience the Great Beginnings Difference
We would love the opportunity to meet your family and show you what makes Great Beginnings so special.
Simply click the “Schedule a Tour” button on our website to choose a date and time that works best for your schedule. We look forward to welcoming you to our school and sharing how Great Beginnings can become part of your family’s journey.
