Inquisitive Minds Confident Kids
Through inquiry, discovery, and caring guidance, we nurture your child’s natural curiosity—helping them grow into a confident, capable learner.
Discover the Strong Start Difference
Not a Franchise. Not a Corporation. A Place Where Children Come First
We’re a mission-driven community where children come first. In our Reggio-inspired, inquiry-based classrooms, curiosity leads the way. Children are encouraged to explore, ask questions, and discover through meaningful, hands-on experiences. We celebrate each child’s unique perspective, nurturing their creativity, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning. Just as we honor the individuality of every child, we deeply value our teachers—supporting their growth, voice, and vital role in shaping young minds.

Exceptional Early Childhood Professionals

Built on Trust, Committed to Safety


Dear Families,
Choosing the right early childhood program is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your child. At Strong Start Early Care & Education, we recognize that every child deserves a nurturing, stimulating environment that sets the foundation for a lifetime of learning and success. That’s why I founded Strong Start-to bring the exceptional quality of top nursery and independent private school Pre-K programs into an early childhood setting designed for children ages 0-5 years, offering full-day options that support today’s families.
See What Our Parent Are Saying
Chelsea Jakabcin Send your infants here! When I drop my LO off I feel confident and happy knowing they are safe, happy and well cared for. We selected Strong Start for our infant care 5 days a week and have been thrilled with it. Our LO is 9 months now and we started at 5 months, this place is not pacification at all. They have a curriculum for infants, which includes, art, music, reading books, they even did a unit on making applesauce. The class watched safely in the kitchen as the teacher made applesauce and learned about apples. Safety here is unmatched. The ENTIRE staff knows my LO and greets them by name. All parents have a unique keycard (on your phone) to enter the building as well as a unique code to check in. The app used to communicate with the parents is NOT on the staffs personal phones but a provided device within the classroom. The photos the teacher takes during the day to share with us are NOT on their personal phones but again the school provided device. As a parent my mind is at ease knowing my LOs photos are secure and only shared with me. The school is CLEAN! Never have I seen a mess or dirt. I saw first hand a teacher clean spit up with a baby/pet/ environmentally friendly cleaning solution. Every area is neat, tidy and uncluttered. To me, this directly reflects how buttoned up and well run this school is. The overall vibe of the school is light, bright and happy! The school does parent teacher conferences even for infants. We reviewed an in-depth state endorsed assessment of his milestones and behaviors. It was so fun and helpful to hear about his progress. As we share our journey with our families through photos, we have received countless comments about how impressive their school looks and they can not believe all the things they have them doing. My older aunts have even went to the school’s website to check it out. Overall, this is the place to send your child. We are excited for them to continue to grow and learn through the care of Strong Start. At drop off, the older kids are eager to go into their classrooms and it is rare to hear them resisting and not wanting to leave their parents. I truly don’t have a negative thing to say about this place. As a parent I know how hard it is to decide on a school where your child will spend most of their time. I toured almost every daycare on Bridgeport Ave in Shelton and NONE of them meet this level of care, passion and safety. Again, send your infant here! Choosing not to include photos for safety. Schedule a visit to see first hand how awesome it is.Meghann Kisielewicz My daughter is four and has gone to Strong Start in Shelton since she was six months old. We LOVE it there! She has one more year in the Pre-K 4’s and then it’s off to kindergarten. We are going to be so very sad to leave. The teachers, staff and curriculum are amazing! We couldn’t recommend Strong Start more!Amy Chernata We chose to send both of our boys (beginning at ~3 years old) to Strong Start purely for early education. Our eldest is now five and doing great in kindergarten. His teacher has expressed to us how well he was prepared for kindergarten and we feel it is a result of his time at Strong Start. We’ve been very pleased with the comfort our boys had/have with the staff and facility as well. Besides the usual, Strong Start curriculum includes a wide range of fun and educational activities such as gardening and cooking, which all of the kids loved. They promote an encouraging environment and have had guest firetruck, ambulance, food truck, etc. for the kids to explore. An add-on feature is that they have an app they will upload daily photos to, so you can see how/what your child(ren) are doing. I always found this helpful because it gave me the opportunity to have conversations with my boys after school about their days and/or I was able to reinforce their learning topics. Our youngest (who has more room for growth) has attended for three months now and has already shown improvements with his coordination, independence and critical thinking. He’s more confident speaking and is independent in use of the restroom during the day and night already. His most notable area of improvement has been social, as he is introverted unlike his brother. Overall, we are very thankful to the Strong Start staff for playing an important role in the growth and development of our boys. We’d highly recommend to anyone searching for pre-school care and/or education for their little one(s).John N All of the teachers and staff treat you like family and your kids like their own. Extremely clean facilities and they’re not just watching your kids, they’re intentional about their cognitive development. There’s a material difference in the program they run compared to others, the focus on child development is 2nd to none. I couldn’t imagine sending my kids anywhere else.Lisette Munoz I have four children that attend/ed Strong Start throughout the years and I cannot express how grateful I am for Marc Hoffman, Christina Masciola and all staff at Strong Start. This center has exceeded my expectations! I’m impressed by the professionalism of the staff members and the way they are able to give the children structure, education and TLC. Strong Start provides my children with an excellent educational foundation whose philosophy is rooted in the Reggio Emilia Approach. The children learn through play and experiences allowing them to use their creativity while developing milestones. My children come home everyday telling me something new they learned. I highly recommend this early learning center for your children!