West Loop · Childcare

Childcare in the West Loop.

The West Loop has 11 businesses licensed by the City of Chicago as Children's Services Facilities — a license type that covers daycares, preschools, early-learning centers, and after-school programs. The list below is sorted alphabetically; each facility links through to its full detail page with address, license record, and (where verified) hours and contact info.

Comparison

Hours, age ranges, and tuition vary by facility and are best confirmed directly with each one. The City license does not distinguish between program types (daycare vs. tutoring center, for example) — see each facility's website or call to confirm what they offer.

Enriched profiles

Facilities below have additional verified info (operator description, website, etc.) curated from each facility's own public web presence. Click through to the full detail page for citations.

• Brain Builders Academy

  West Loop STEAM-based private elementary school on South Sangamon — flagship campus serving PreK through 6th grade (ages 3–9). Classes are capped at five students per teacher. The school guarantees a child enrolling at age 3–3.5 will be at least one grade level ahead by kindergarten or refunds parents $10,000.

• Brightpath West Loop

  The best start in life.

  New West Loop child care center serving infants through pre-K, opened spring 2026. Programs include music, dance, and yoga; tuition includes diapers and meals. Part of the global Busy Bees family of centers.

• Erie Neighborhood House

  Settlement-house social-services nonprofit founded in 1870 as a ministry of Holland Presbyterian Church. Serves about 20,000 low-income and immigrant Chicagoans annually with legal services, mental-health and community wellness, children and youth programs, adult education and training, and community resources. Operates across four Chicago locations.

• Green Beginnings

  A West Loop daycare and early-development center for ages 6 weeks to 5 years (Seedlings through Flowers classrooms), founded by educators Katie Darcy and Krissy Ramirez. Uses organic, locally grown foods and emphasizes environmental stewardship.

• Kids Stem Studio

  Kids STEM Studio on West Gladys — hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math activities for ages 4–14: weekly classes, after-school enrichment, day-off camps, week-long camps, and STEM birthday parties. Projects include robotics, experimental design, coding, and Minecraft.

• Pma West Loop

  West Loop branch of Premier Martial Arts on West Monroe. Karate, Krav Maga, kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, and Taekwondo for kids and adults, with certified instructors and modern teaching methods.

• Rainforest Learning Center

  The most extraordinary preschool anywhere — environmental school of the arts.

  An artistic preschool and infant program on Madison Street blending creative development — theatre production, ceramics, poetry, and nature immersion — with academic rigor. One of four Chicago campuses.

  rainforestpreschool.com ↗

• The Gardner School

  Stunning, academically-focused preschools serving students six weeks to Pre-K in the heart of the city.

  A Madison Street preschool serving children from six weeks through Pre-K with an academically-focused curriculum. Enrichment programming includes gymnastics, music and movement, and karate. One of several Chicago-area Gardner School campuses.

Frequently asked questions

How many licensed childcare facilities are in the West Loop?

11 businesses inside the West Loop hold a Children's Services Facility License from the City of Chicago as of the most recent license refresh. The license covers a range of operations — daycares, preschools, after-school tutoring centers, and early-childhood programs — and does not by itself distinguish between them.

Is Mathnasium a daycare?

No. Mathnasium is a math tutoring and learning center; it shows up on this list because the City's Children's Services Facility License covers any program serving children, not just daycare. Always check each facility's website or call to confirm the program type before enrolling.

What about Bright Horizons and BrightPath?

Bright Horizons Chicago West Loop and BrightPath West Loop are full-service daycare and early-learning centers, the two largest commercial childcare operators in the neighborhood. Both have multiple Chicago locations; the West Loop campuses serve infants through pre-kindergarten.

Does this list include in-home daycares?

Only licensed facilities operating from a business address show up in the City's Business Licenses dataset. Licensed in-home daycares (Family Child Care Home licenses) are issued by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which is a separate public data source not currently pulled.

How do I check whether a childcare license is current?

Click any facility name to see its detail page, then follow the "Source" link to the City of Chicago Business Licenses dataset record. The page also shows the date the license data was last retrieved by this site.

Keep exploring

• Schools in the West Loop CPS schools serving the neighborhood
• Parks in the West Loop Playgrounds at Skinner, Bartelme, Park No. 551
• West Loop at a glance Census demographics including school-age population
• About the West Loop Neighborhood guide, ZIP codes, boundaries
• Full business directory All active businesses in West Loop
• All Children's Services licenses Category page with the same 11 listings