Carnegie Mellon University

The CMU Children’s School is a place for children and adults to learn by doing.

Operating now for over fifty years, the Carnegie Mellon University Children’s School is part of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences' Department of Psychology and is one of the most popular programs in the Pittsburgh area. The Children's School is a laboratory school that is actively involved in preschool and kindergarten education, developmental research, undergraduate teaching and training of both pre-service and practicing educators. Educators model best practices for early childhood education by designing thematic curriculum for active exploration and equipping parents to extend children’s learning at home. 

The Children’s School offers model preschool and kindergarten programs for approximately 70 children ages 3-6 years. Our program runs from September through mid-May, with the option of a half-day summer camp in June.  The Children’s School has been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children since 2003 and licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education since 2014.

With only having 15 percent of its students from CMU-affiliated households, the Children's School is racially and economically diverse. The programs for children, families, researchers, undergraduates and educators prove that an excitement for learning knows no bounds of age.

Learn more about the CMU Children's School