Mile High Early Learning offers a high quality early education experience in formal and informal classroom settings and serves more than 1,000 children and families annually. Founded in 1972, Mile High Early Learning is Denver's largest and oldest provider of quality early care and education.
In addition to providing early care and education at six centers and 12 partner sites, Mile High Early Learning trains and supports Family, Friend, & Neighbor caregivers through Babies Ready for College, provides education and training with hands-on practical experiences to early learning professionals through its nationally recognized Professional Learning Center, and leads efforts to enhance systems and develop best practices the support and inform the early childhood field.
Mile High Early Learning ensures all children thrive by cultivating every child’s potential, engaging families, and championing our early learning workforce.
Mile High Early Learning’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is deeply embedded in our work. Our vision through all of our programming is that children, families, and staff of all racial, cultural, economic, and social backgrounds are joyfully welcomed into a learning community that prioritizes equity and finds strength in diversity.
Mile High Early Learning (MHEL) has been closing the achievement gap for children in Denver who are farthest from resources for 50 years. Since the organization’s founding, MHEL has provided high quality early care and education to over 50,000 children. MHEL had its beginnings when child care providers came together to create a consortium with the support of Mile High United Way and the City and County of Denver. In 1972 this consortium was incorporated as Mile High Child Care to provide affordable, accessible quality early childhood care and education for children from families with limited income. MHEL’s programs and scope of services have evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of the community and to incorporate the most recent knowledge from the early childhood field.
As a Head Start delegate through Denver Great Kids for over 20 years, and as a Head Start grantee since 2021, MHEL delivers critically needed health and social services to complement its high quality early education program. MHEL collaborated with other agencies to offer Early Head Start (EHS) to a limited number of children before becoming an EHS grantee in 2017. Since that time MHEL has received two additional EHS grants to expand its successful EHS/Child Care Partnership program to serve more young children in Denver and the surrounding counties.
Organization name
Mile High Early Learning
other names
Mile High Early Learning, MHEL, Mile High Child Care Association, Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers
1972
Tax id (EIN)
84-0617972
Category
Education
Organization Size
Large Organization
Colorado State Tax Credits
Colorado Child Care Credit
Address
616 E Speer BlvdDenver County, CO, US
Phone
303-861-2602
Fax
303-861-2604