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Front entrance of the Kennedy Early Childhood Center.

Kennedy Early Childhood Center

Logo for Kennedy Early Childhood Center.

 

Our Mission

Kennedy Early Childhood Center serves the community by providing young children with high quality learning and play through programs and services that meet their individual needs.

Our staff and educators create a welcoming and encouraging educational environment for young minds to explore, play, and learn. We collaborate closely with our school families to help scholars develop independence and foundational social-emotional skills.

Our Vision

We strive to build a better, brighter community where Birth-5 professionals work in concert with our families to help young children grow, learn, and shine. We want our scholars to have the social, emotional, and academic tools they need to begin life at their very best. We work to ensure every child has the safe, welcoming environment to explore and play that they deserve at such a pivotal time in their development.

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Our ECC Team

A large group of people are posing for a photo on tiered seating in a modern building with a %22FOCUS%22 sign in the background.
A large group of people stand on steps in front of a stone building with large windows.
A woman in a blue shirt and jeans gestures while talking to a man in a brown shirt, with a brick wall and a poster in the background.
Three smiling women hold up purple workbooks in front of a kitchen area with cabinets and a microwave.
Four people are posing in a classroom with a whiteboard and bookshelves in the background, one woman is standing with her arms raised, another is sitting in a rocking chair reading, and a third is wrapped in a blanket, while the fourth is kneeling and eating.
Two women balance books on their heads in a classroom with filing cabinets and a trash can in the background.
A woman in a yellow dress reads from a paper to a group of people in a library with a counter full of pastries in the foreground.
Adults and children sit at tables in the foreground, engaged in an activity, with a library filled with bookshelves in the background.
Four people stand in front of a wooden fireplace in a library, with bookshelves on either side and colorful, whimsical trees decorating the wall behind them.
A colorful %22Please come! Potluck!%22 sign is in the foreground, while a lively potluck gathering fills the background of a school cafeteria.
People mingle and gather around tables in a brightly lit gymnasium with balloons floating above, while a banner hangs on the back wall.
A woman with gray hair and a blue scarf is in the foreground, with a vibrant floral tapestry in the background.

Email: Esther.Kottwitz@usd497.org

Phone: 785-832-5760 ext. 1793

Qualifications: M.S. School Administration and Leadership M.A. Applied Behavior Analysis and Human Development B.A. Psychology and English Kansas Licensure: School Administration Early Childhood Education (birth-8 yr) Early Childhood Special Education (birth-8 yr)

Mrs. Esther Kottwitz

We are excited to begin a new school year and look forward to working together with you and your child(ren).

We offer a variety of opportunities for children, ages birth to five years, and their families.

Our programs include: Parents as Teachers (Birth- age 5 ), Douglas County Early Childhood Developmental Services (Birth-age 3), Early Childhood Special Education Services (3-5 years), Peer Model Program, and Pre-K classrooms funded by KSDE.

Please contact us for more information.

Esther Kottwitz, Principal

785-832-5760 ext. 1793

Esther.Kottwitz@usd497.org