West Loop · Childcare

Childcare in the West Loop

The West Loop has 12 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 of Brain Builders Academy 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. Notable for its STEAM curriculum, the academy was featured by ABC7 Chicago.

• Bright Horizons Chicago West Loop

• BrightPath West Loop

  “The best start in life” — their tagline

  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, Erie Neighborhood House 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 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.

• Intercultural Montessori Foreign Language Immersion School

• Kensington School of West Loop

• Kids Stem Studio

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

• Mathnasium, the Math Learning Center

• Rainforest Learning Center

  “The most extraordinary preschool anywhere — environmental school of the arts” — their tagline

  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, the school is notable for its graduates consistently testing into the high-90s percentile and being recognized by Chicago private elementary schools, alongside an all-natural meal program.

  rainforestpreschool.com ↗

• Stepping Stones Nursery School

• The Gardner School

  “Academically-focused preschools serving students six weeks to Pre-K” — their tagline

  A Madison Street preschool serving children from six weeks through Pre-K with an academically-focused curriculum and enrichment programming including gymnastics, music and movement, and karate. Part of TGS Holdings, LLC, one of several Chicago-area Gardner School campuses, the school is notable for its academically-focused curriculum, enrichment programming, and strong parent communication.

Frequently asked questions

How many licensed childcare facilities are in the West Loop?

12 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
• Day-care license records The City's separate day-care license class