Pre-K | 4 - 5 Years | Serving Albuquerque, Tijeras, & All East Mountain Communities

New Mexico Early Learning Academy is open from Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm at four locations in and around Albuquerque (Central, Eubank, Tijeras, and Edgewood). We offer free NM Pre-K at all four locations from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, and we also offer wrap-around care for those students.

NMELA holds a NECPA National Accreditation. NECPA stands for the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation; it’s a quality assurance system for early childhood programs. We also maintain a 5-STAR rating from New Mexico’s FOCUS Quality Rating System. Star ratings and national accreditations are a great way to ensure high quality when you’re looking for a preschool or childcare.

New Mexico PreK is a free, state-funded, voluntary preschool program for children aged 3 and 4 years. It is designed to provide access to high-quality, developmentally appropriate education for the children of New Mexico in the year before kindergarten. The program focuses on language, math, science, social skills, and more, to prepare children for school.

Outdoor play is vital to early development and has several benefits. Moving, climbing, and playing outside build gross motor skills, coordination, spatial awareness, and confidence. Children can take safe risks, which builds problem-solving skills. Outdoor activities promote socialization with other children, which supports communication and empathy. Gardening outdoors fosters a connection to nature and encourages children to think about the world.

According to research by the US Department of Education, there are a number of benefits to being bilingual and biliterate, including improved executive function, problem-solving, and multitasking skills, better memory and cognitive flexibility, superior communication, empathy, cultural understanding, and confidence in social settings.

A literacy-based early education, which includes signing songs, access to age-appropriate books, storytelling activities, and a print-rich environment, supports cognitive and language development, memory, problem-solving, and vocabulary. Children who experience a literacy-focused education in their early years are better prepared for kindergarten and more successful academically, socially and emotionally.

In play-based learning, play is the primary way that children learn. Playful games, toys, puzzles, and activities introduce new concepts for children to explore, solve, and build skills. Activities may be structured, open-ended, child-led, or teacher-directed, with a focus on fun and joy. Examples of play-based learning include building structures with blocks, painting, or creating crafts, acting out or making up stories, and engaging with sensory materials like sand and water.

Learning through play has great benefits for children, including improved cognitive skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and logical reasoning; more advanced social skills like cooperation, communication, negotiation, compromise, and self-confidence; stronger fine motor skills (like handwriting) and gross motor skills (like running and jumping). Perhaps the greatest benefit of play-based learning is that the positive and engaging experience instills a lifelong love of discovery.

Our teacher-to-child ratios exceed state standards. The benefit of low teacher-to-child ratios is more interaction and personalized attention for each child, so they can learn at their own pace and in their preferred style.

A healthy balanced diet is important for healthy growth and development in early learners. NMELA provides nutritious, allergy-conscious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for our students every day. Meals and snacks are prepared by our chef with fresh ingredients, including veggies from the garden.

We have dual-restricted entrances and secure external fences to make sure no one can enter the premises without authorization. Our security cameras cover classrooms and public areas, and all staff are CPR-trained. Strict security measures are in place across all four of NMELA’s locations: Eubank, Central, Tijeras, and Edgewood.

Enrollment at New Mexico Early Learning Center is easy and customized to you. If you want to tour one of our locations, click Book A Tour and choose your location. After your tour, you can sign up on site. If you’re ready to enroll online, click Contact Us, complete the form with your information, and we’ll get you on board. If you have any questions, you can call or email us.

To enroll your child, we need your child’s birth certificate or proof of date of birth, your proof of residency, your photo identification, and your child’s up-to-date immunization records. We will also ask for any relevant health and medical information, such as details on any allergies or conditions, and we will take your emergency contact information.

We proudly offer FREE New Mexico Pre-K for 4-to-5-year-olds. NM Pre-K is a free, state-funded education program that prepares children for kindergarten.