St Francis Children's Center

St Francis Children's Center is a preschool in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. It is a not-for-profit social services agency serving children with and without special needs across Milwaukee County, and it holds a rating of 4.40 from the customers who have reviewed it.

The center was founded in 1968 by Sister Joanne Marie Kliebhan and Mr. Eli Tash as an inclusive learning center where children could play and grow together, built on the belief that the earlier children with special needs receive assistance, the more opportunities they have to succeed. Today it serves more than 1,200 children from birth through high school and their families throughout the Milwaukee area, with a team of educators, social workers, therapists and administrators.

Its Early Childhood Education program provides year-round, full-day care for up to 10 hours a day, serving children from six weeks old through five-year-old Kindergarten, with classrooms that combine play-based learning and individualized support. The program is state-licensed, NAC accredited and holds a 5-Star Youngstar rating, and in 2024 it nearly doubled in size to serve over 120 children. The Family Activity Center offers free weekly programming, including an open gym, story time, SibShops and parent support groups, along with sensory play and parent cafes. Onsite pediatric outpatient therapy provides occupational, physical and speech therapy, with 10 therapists on the team and most insurance types accepted, including private insurance, Medicaid, HMOs and self-pay. Birth to Three early intervention delivers in-home occupational, physical and speech therapies, special education and service coordination on behalf of Milwaukee County, and the Children's Long-Term Support program provides service coordination through the CLTS waiver. Dr. Rick Clark, PsyD, the on-site licensed psychologist, consults with teachers and offers individual, family and group psychotherapy and psychological evaluations for children from infancy to adolescence, including those with autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, ADHD and anxiety. The center has been named a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplace six times.

The center sits on North Port Washington Road, about a tenth of a mile from the North Shore Public Library and a short distance from Cardinal Stritch University. The North-South Freeway runs about two tenths of a mile away, and the Green Tree Road Bridge is roughly three tenths of a mile from the building.

For families in Whitefish Bay and across Milwaukee County, St Francis Children's Center pairs inclusive early education with on-site therapy and family programming, serving children of all abilities from infancy through high school.