Chicago · Licensed center

Little Inspirations East Hyde Park

What these mean, and where they come from

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

How they teach

Montessori and Reggio Emilia–inspired

“Guided and inspired by leading educational philosophers such as John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget & Lev Vygotsky, Little Inspirations holds constructivist theory close to heart.”In their words, August 2026.little-inspirations.com

“We also aspire to the natural aesthetics and collaborative community orientation found in Reggio Emilia approach to schooling.”In their words, August 2026.little-inspirations.com

One of 15 Chicago-area providers that describe a Montessori approach, out of 129 that describe any approach at all.

Who cares for your child

Ratio not published

Iris Branch (East Hyde Park Site Director), 10 years in early childhood and Peg Dunne Pavelec (Founder), 15 years in early childhood. Three other staff are named on their site, with no start years given.

What it costs

Application fee $25.

Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost, hours and late pickup, a typical day, sick and biting policies.

What the state has found

Routine visits: 4 of 4 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
July 8, 2025
On file
4 visits since August 2021 — all of them cited findings
Fixed?
The latest correction deadline was August 8, 2025. 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.

Jul 2025 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · July 8, 2025

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children

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

Cited: CCASEC4

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 580179 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2024 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · August 2, 2024

Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) through (f)(8) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) · 407.210(f)(8)

Organization and Administration

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(l) · Violation corrected

Diapering and Toileting Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.340(a)(5) · Violation corrected on site

Napping and Sleeping

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(j) · Violation corrected

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(q)(1) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 580179 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Sep 2023 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · September 20, 2023

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) through (p) · Violation corrected

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

Diapering and Toileting Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.340(c) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 580179 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2021 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · August 24, 2021

Organization and Administration

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

Staffing Structure

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(b) · Violation substantiated

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 580179 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).

Details

7738910029

Website
little-inspirations.com
Address
5548 S Hyde Park Blvd
License
pending renewal application (rn)
Ages they serve
ages 6 weeks - 6 years
Established
2008

Do you run Little Inspirations East Hyde Park? Shortlist has no hours, 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

How they teach

Who cares for your child

What it costs

State record

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

Details

  • Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "LITTLE INSPIRATIONS EAST HYDE PARK" under Provider Name and 60637 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 580179).
  • Website — Checked August 2026 little-inspirations.com
  • Ages they serve, Established — Checked August 2026 little-inspirations.com