Chicago · Licensed center

Explora Learning Center 1 LLC

What these mean, and where they come from

Small means the smallest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 8 to 48 children. Medium is 49 to 118; large is 119 to 487.

How they teach

STEAM

“STEAM curriculum and holistic activities: Science, technology, engineering, arts, and math programs, alongside physical education and the arts, to stimulate mind and body.”In their words, August 2026.exploralearningcenter.com

One of 12 Chicago-area providers that describe a STEAM approach, out of 129 that describe any approach at all.

Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost, ratios and staff, sick and biting policies.

What the state has found

Routine visits: 5 of 5 cited something

Chicago-area centers: the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits.

From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit
December 17, 2025
On file
5 visits since May 2025 — all of them cited findings
Fixed?
The latest correction deadline was January 4, 2026. Illinois DCFS does not publish whether it was made.
Most serious
Illinois DCFS does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.

Illinois DCFS cites each subsection of a rule separately, so one audit of a filing cabinet can produce ten citations. It publishes the rule’s title and a correction deadline, but no description of what was observed.

Dec 2025 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · December 17, 2025

Grouping and Staffing

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.190(g) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 629022 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Dec 2025 Monitoring visit 8 findings

Monitoring visit · December 5, 2025

Personnel Records

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (4) · Violation substantiated

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(a) through (e)(3) · Violation substantiated

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(a) · 407.370(e)(3)

Organization and Administration

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e) · Violation substantiated

Confidentiality of Records and Information

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.80(a) · Violation substantiated

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(d) · Violation substantiated

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 629022 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Nov 2025 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · November 7, 2025

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(b)(2) · Violation substantiated

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 629022 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Oct 2025 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · October 24, 2025

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected

Nutrition and Meal Service

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(h) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 629022 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2025 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · May 5, 2025

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120 · Violation corrected

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5) · Violation corrected

Equipment and Materials

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380 · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 629022 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

How the comparison is built

Routine visits: across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).

A day here

Meals
Fresh meals prepared daily from natural ingredients, nothing canned or processed, including homemade baby purees
Outdoors
Daily outdoor time for infants via stroller walks and playground play
Hours
6:30 AM to 5:30 PM, 5 days a week

Details

3127303506

Website
exploralearningcenter.com
Address
5859 W Irving Park Rd
License
license issued (il)
Established
2025

Do you run Explora Learning Center 1 LLC? Shortlist has no tuition, ratios or policies for it, because the state does not publish that. Adding it is free and takes about ten minutes.

Add what is missing
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

State record

Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.

A day here

Details

  • Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "EXPLORA LEARNING CENTER 1 LLC" under Provider Name and 60634 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 629022).
  • Website — Checked August 2026 exploralearningcenter.com
  • Established — Checked August 2026 exploralearningcenter.com