Palo Alto · Licensed center
Ellen Thacher Children's Center
A developmental center in Palo Alto, licensed for 28 children. Run by a nonprofit. A board oversees it, and there are no owners taking profit. Care for a preschooler is $2,920 a month, more than 22 of 36 Bay Area full-time prices. The state cited something at 0 of 5 routine visits (Bay Area centers: about 1 in 4).
Small center. Small means the smallest quarter of Bay Area’s 439 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 8 to 30 children. Medium is 31 to 75; large is 76 to 312.
Who runs it: from ccld.dss.ca.gov.
How they teach
Developmental and play-based
“PACCC's Whole-Child Approach At PACCC, we believe in a whole-child approach to early education and care and have delivered on our promise to be a community where children thrive”In their words. paccc.org, July 2026
“we are "committed to providing comprehensive, enriching, play-based programming that stimulates curiosity, creativity, and exploration."”In their words. paccc.org, July 2026
One of 30 Bay Area providers that describe a developmental approach, out of 164 that describe any approach at all.
Who cares for your child
One adult for every eight preschoolers
Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.
What it costs
$2,920 a month for a preschooler
Higher than 22 of 36 Bay Area providers that publish a full-time preschool price.
Ellen Thacher Children's CenterMost Bay Area prices (middle 80%)
Scale $1,000 to $4,000 a month. Bay Area prices as of September 29, 2026. Half-day $1,240 to $2,480 a month. Application fee $25. Prices from their website, July 2026.
Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: sick and biting policies.
What the state has found
Routine visits: 0 of 5 cited something
Across Bay Area centers, the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits (2,260 visits).
From California CDSS Community Care Licensing’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — California CDSS Community Care Licensing
- Last visit
- March 5, 2026
- On file
- 5 visits since April 2022 — all of them cited nothing · 3 complaint investigations
- Most serious
- Type B —
101212 Reporting Requirements (f) The items specified in (d)(1)(A) through (H) above shall also be reported to the child's authorized representative. This requirement was not met as evidenced by: Based on admission, interviews conducted and review or records/incident reports, staff did not provide a incident report to the child's parent/representative, which poses an potential health and safety risk to children in care.
· January 7, 2026
California CDSS publishes the full investigation narrative for a complaint, including its disposition, and classifies a citation Type A — an immediate risk to a child — or Type B.
Nov 2025 Complaint
Complaint · November 10, 2025
CCR 101212(f) · Type B
101212 Reporting Requirements (f) The items specified in (d)(1)(A) through (H) above shall also be reported to the child's authorized representative. This requirement was not met as evidenced by: Based on admission, interviews conducted and review or records/incident reports, staff did not provide a incident report to the child's parent/representative, which poses an potential health and safety risk to children in care.
Mar 2022 Complaint Unsubstantiated
Complaint · March 15, 2022
Unsubstantiated
ALLEGATION(S): Staff hit daycare children. INVESTIGATION FINDINGS: On 4/22/2022, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Jonathan Williams arrived to the facility unannounced to conclude investigation into the above allegation. LPA was met by Director, K.N., and six other fingerprint cleared and associated staff members. Present during today's visit were 24 preschool aged children in care. During the course of the investigation, LPA interviewed staff members, interviewed parents of children in care, interviewed daycare children, and reviewed facility records. LPA recieved conflicting information. While the allegation may have happened is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violation did or did not occur. Therefore, the allegation is deemed UNSUBSTANTIATED. Exit interview conducted. Appeal Rights provided. Notice of Site Visit was given. Unsubstantiated Estimated Days of Completion:
Individual employees are shown by initials. The state’s report, linked above, names them in full.
A day here
- Meals
- Healthy, organic snacks and lunch included in tuition
- Hours
- 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, 5 days a week, year round
- Schedule
- Full Day, Part Day Long
Details
- Phone
- (650) 494-1467
- Website
- paccc.org
- Address
- 505 East Charleston Road
- License
- 434400381, active
Do you run Ellen Thacher Children's Center? Shortlist has no policies for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.
Sources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
Who cares for your child
- Children per adult — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
What it costs
- Preschool, Second price, Application fee — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
State record
Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.
The state’s licensing transparency data reports 3 complaint-related visit(s) to this facility, while 2 complaint investigation report(s) are published on the transparency portal. State complaint counts: substantiated=1, inconclusive=0, unsubstantiated=2, unfounded=CONFIDENTIAL, Type A citations=0, Type B citations=1. The state publishes no further detail for the difference.
A day here
- Meals — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
- Hours, Schedule — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
- Calendar — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 · ccld.dss.ca.gov
- Website — Checked July 2026 · paccc.org
- Who runs it — Checked September 2026 · ccld.dss.ca.gov