Collaborative, Diverse, Holistic Learning
for Ages 3-19

We’ve moved!

We have returned to our original home:

910 Sioux San Dr
Rapid City, SD 57702

Summer

Program

2024-2025 Enrollment Now Available!

Quick FAQ:

  • Learning is inclusive, collaborative, diverse, and holistic;

    • We celebrate all genders and sexualities.

    • We embrace different cultures and ethnicities.

  • Certified teachers on staff;

  • Rolling enrollment available throughout the year;

  • We follow CDC guidelines for Covid-19;

    • Our staff are fully vaccinated;

  • Nutritious snacks provided;

  • $7,000 per year per enrolled learner

    • monthly payment plans, sibling discounts, and scholarship opportunities available;

    • all inclusive tuition - no hidden fees.

We have a sliding scale for payment (based on tax returns). If you would like your child enrolled but have financial concerns please complete our Financial Aid Form.

If your child has already started school, we have resources available to help families transition to our program.

Enroll now! Late enrollments will be prorated.

Request More Information

If you would like to learn more information, talk with staff, or schedule a tour, please click the Learn more button and complete the information. We will contact you within 2 business days.

Early Childhood Education Program

Details:

  • Learning through play

  • Mixed age group collaboration

  • Ages 3 and up

  • Potty trained required

  • Limited enrollment

Enroll now!

Program Features

  • Adaptive learning

    We meet children where they are. Learners are grouped based on their literacy skills, and regrouped on their math skills. Groups change often to reflect learners’ abilities, needs, and growth.

  • Inclusion

    We celebrate and respect the pronouns, genders, and identities that each child chooses. We welcome and honor the different cultures and ideologies represented by our learners and endeavor to explore and respect many world cultures. We strive to be a safe, welcoming, and accepting learning environment.

  • Social Emotional Learning

    Central to our daily learning is developing essential social emotional skills. Children learn to negotiate interpersonal relationships, how to communicate personally and professionally, how to act with compassion to themselves and others, and how to be good leaders.

  • Field Trips

    Nearly every Friday, our learners are out on field trips and engaged in the community.

    They explore learning trips, like to Oglala Lakota College and to the Sanford Underground Lab.

    They give back through community service, like volunteering at Feeding South Dakota and cleaning trash in public parks.

    They have fun while learning about our community when they swim at Roosevelt Pool and ice skate downtown.

  • Community Lunch

    With a budget and nutritional guidelines, children of all ages plan a community lunch, order the food, then cook together for our community.

A Better Learning Environment

The foundation, design, and implementation of EmpowerEd is research based in child development and how the brain and body function and grow.

Collaborative

  • Kids collaborate across ages. This allows kids to:

    • Scaffold learning for each other, which allows them to learn more quickly and more thoroughly;

    • Learn how to communicate and work with people of all ages;

    • Build the most important skills for life: collaboration and communication.

  • Kids engage with the community. On Fridays, kids go on field trips and perform community service.

    • Kids learn about the Black Hills community through hands on experiences.

      • Educational hikes with local experts.

      • Hands on learning at local farms.

      • Experiential arts and sciences learning at local businesses.

    • Kids engage with and give back to their community through volunteer work. Some organizations include:

      • Feeding South Dakota

      • Meals on Wheels

      • CASA

      • BH Homeless Coalition’s Community Connect

      • etc.

Diverse

We respect and encourage diversity in culture, identity, and belief.

  • Culture: Kids explore and share their own cultures while learning about the diversity of cultures and ethnicities in the world. This builds awareness, tolerance, and respect.

  • Identity: Kids’ gender, orientation, names, etc, are respected and honored. We strive to provide an environment where every kid feels safe, welcome, and accepted.

  • Belief: Kids learn about various ideologies, religions, and politics. Through thoughtful exposure and respectful conversation, kids learn to engage in civil discourse with those of different beliefs.

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Holistic

We nurture a holistic environment where social and emotional well being, mental health, physical growth, and intellectual progress are all equally important.

  • Kids learn best when their physical, emotional, and intellectual needs are met.

  • Kids learn more deeply when they are intrinsically (self) motivated.

  • Kids become intrinsically motivated when they have a vote and a voice in what they are learning.

Get Involved!

Enroll

Volunteer

Our Nondiscrimination Policy

It is the policy of EmpowerEd to ensure equal opportunity to all persons served by or serving the organization, or having any relationship with the organization without discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion or creed, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, native language, citizenship, marital status, veteran’s status, political service or affiliation, or otherwise as may be prohibited by federal and state law. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

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COVID-19 Update

EmpowerEd will follow CDC guidance regarding Covid-19 and other health safety measures. (Access CDC guidelines here.)

  • We encourage those who are sick to please stay home.

  • If you think you might be sick, or were exposed to a sick person (not just covid), we encourage you to wear a mask.

  • Please remember, there are people in our extended community who may not be eligible for the covid vaccine or who may have fragile health. We ask that you continue to be careful and considerate of others.

  • When the CDC makes changes to its guidance, EmpowerEd will inform families.