About Us

The SWFS Balfour Brickner Early Childhood Center (ECC) carries on Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s long tradition of educating young children. In 1949, the Synagogue opened what was then called the Nursery School and Kindergarten, where children learned through creative play in a Jewish environment. Now, almost 60 years later, the ECC continues to educate and inspire the youngest members of the Stephen Wise community.

The Early Childhood Center is proud to work in partnership with the Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI). JECEI is an organization that seeks to engage young children and their families into a rich and meaningful Jewish life. It has worked with schools across the country, to infuse early childhood centers with Jewish values, utilizing the Reggio Emilia approach to education as its vehicle.