Daycare FAQ: 30+ Answers for Ennis Parents

We care for children from 6 weeks to 12 years old: infants, toddlers, preschool and Pre-K, and school-age before and after-school care. ABC is licensed by Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation (license #1840100) and licensed for 224 children at our 16,550-square-foot center in Ennis.

Yes. We are enrolling all age groups at 1700 Cedar Run Road in Ennis. Infant and Pre-K rooms fill fastest, and joining our waiting list is free. When a spot opens you have 24 hours to accept it. Call (972) 884-0222 to check current openings for your child's age.

Use the tour request form on our contact page or call us. Tours and meet-the-teacher visits are scheduled between 9:30 AM and noon or between 2:00 and 4:00 PM on weekdays. Children are welcome to come along, and a tour takes about 20 minutes.

Tour the center and meet the teacher, complete the enrollment forms, and pay the one-time $150 enrollment fee plus your first week's tuition. Start dates fall on a Monday so your child begins a full week in our food program. Refer a new student and get 50% off your first week.

Bring a completed admission form, a physician-signed health statement, immunization records or a notarized state exemption, a copy of your ID, and an authorized pick-up form. Add a food allergy plan, infant sleep and feeding schedule, or custody agreement if they apply. We help you complete everything.

Yes. ABC Early Learning Academy operates in the building at 1700 Cedar Run Road that was formerly Sunshine Kids Academy and Cedar Ridge Child Development. ABC is under new ownership, with its own Texas HHSC license, #1840100, new hours of 6 AM to 7 PM, and meals included.

Weekly tuition runs from $155 for after-school care to $235 for infants at the published rate, with a lower rate when you pay on Monday. There is a one-time $150 enrollment fee and a $50 supply fee every three months. Meals and learning materials are included in tuition.

Yes, enrollment help is available for CCS child care scholarships, the Texas program formerly called CCMS. In Ellis County it is administered by Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas. Our staff will sit with you and complete the application together. Ask us about current CCS status. Workforce Solutions decides eligibility and your copay.

It depends on funding. On September 16, 2026, Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas posted a current wait time of up to 36 months, so apply as early as you can. You can enroll at ABC at our published weekly rates while you wait. Ask us about current CCS status.

Yes, one. Refer a new student and get 50% off your first week of tuition. One per family. Referrals only, never tied to reviews. Paying weekly tuition on Monday also gets the lowest published rate.

We accept credit and debit cards, checks, and cash, with exact change appreciated. Tuition is paid in advance each week, and paying on Monday gets the lowest weekly rate. For CCS scholarships, ask us about current CCS status. A returned payment carries a $35 fee.

Yes. We close at 7:00 PM. Pickup between 7:00 and 7:15 PM is a $10 fee, and after 7:15 PM the fee is $1 per minute. The late fee goes directly to the teacher who stays with your child. Our 7 PM close is later than any other center in Ennis.

Yes. Every child gets a hot breakfast, a hot lunch, and an afternoon snack, cooked on-site in our own kitchen and included in tuition. There are no lunchboxes to pack and no meal fees. We participate in the USDA Child Care Food Program, and menus are posted in every classroom.

Yes. Tell the director about any food allergy at enrollment and bring a food allergy emergency plan. Allergies are posted privately in the kitchen and classroom so staff can serve a safe substitute. For a milk allergy, a physician-completed form lets us provide an approved milk alternative.

Because we serve breakfast, lunch, and snack every day, there is no need to pack food. Water bottles are welcome. Please check with your child's teacher before sending any other food, since keeping outside food limited protects children with allergies. Birthday treats can be arranged ahead for snack time.

We follow your baby's feeding schedule and instructions. Parents provide formula or breast milk for the whole day in bottles labeled with the child's name and date. Breastfeeding mothers can use a private, comfortable nursing space with a seat. Share your baby's feeding schedule with us at enrollment.

Yes, both ways. School-age children can arrive as early as 6 AM, eat a hot breakfast at ABC, and ride with our staff to school. After school we pick them up and bring them back for snack, homework time, and play until you pick up, as late as 7 PM.

We serve local schools near our Ennis center and are confirming routes school by school for this year. Routes and times are confirmed with each family at enrollment. Call (972) 884-0222 with your child's school and grade and we will tell you whether it is on a route.

Ride times depend on each school's bell schedule and are confirmed with your family at enrollment. Doors open at 6 AM, which leaves time for a hot breakfast before children head to school. Call us with your child's school and we will walk you through the morning plan.

Call the center as early as you can on any day your child won't ride, such as a sick day or an early pickup from school. Staff take attendance on every ride, so letting us know keeps the pickup on schedule and makes sure every child is accounted for.

Yes. ABC is licensed by Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation, license #1840100, and licensed for 224 children. We follow, and aim to beat, the state's minimum standards for teacher-to-child ratios, and every teacher and assistant passes a background check and completes the annual training Texas HHSC requires.

Ratios follow the Texas minimum standards: 1:4 for infants, 1:5 for young toddlers, 1:9 for older toddlers, 1:11 for two-year-olds, 1:15 for three-year-olds, 1:18 for four and five-year-olds, and 1:26 for school-age children. Our programs page lists every age group.

The front door uses a secure entry system, and every visiting adult signs in and wears a badge. Children are signed in and out daily, a photo ID is required at pickup, and only adults on your authorized list can take your child. Cameras monitor entrances, hallways, and common areas.

Keep your child home with a fever of 101°F or higher; they can return after 24 hours fever-free without medication. If your child gets sick at the center we call you right away, and you need to pick up within 30 minutes, so keep a backup person on your pick-up list.

We use positive guidance based on the Conscious Discipline approach, which teaches children to calm down, solve problems, and treat each other kindly. Corporal punishment is never used, and discipline is never connected to food, naps, or toilet training. Teachers partner with parents when a behavior keeps coming up.

Yes. We regularly practice fire drills, severe weather drills in a designated safe shelter area inside the building, and lockdown drills. Families are notified of emergency closures by text, email, phone call, and our social media pages, and weather closures follow Ennis ISD decisions.

We are open Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM, 13 hours a day. That makes ABC the only center in Ennis open past 6:30 PM, so parents commuting on I-45 can drop off before traffic builds and still make pickup after a late shift or a slow drive home.

Early arrivals gather in the Morning Room from 6 to 8 AM. Then children eat a hot breakfast, join circle time and hands-on learning centers, play outside at least twice a day, eat a hot lunch, rest, have an afternoon snack, and play until pickup, as late as 7 PM.

Pack three labeled changes of clothes, a nap blanket, and seasonal outdoor gear. Infants also need diapers (at least six a day), wipes, labeled bottles, and formula or breast milk. Toddlers need pull-ups or underwear and a labeled sippy cup. Meals and learning materials are provided.

Yes, every age has daily rest time on individual mats. Children are never forced to sleep, but they rest quietly, and teachers may gently pat them or sit nearby. Children who don't fall asleep after the first half of rest time get a quiet toy or book.

Very little. Personal devices such as tablets, phones, and smartwatches stay home. Classroom screen time is capped at 45 minutes per week, limited to educational, age-appropriate content tied to the weekly theme, and it is never used as a reward or a punishment.

We stay open during most school breaks, including fall, winter, spring, and summer break. We close for New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

After we pick children up from school, they wash up, have a snack, and settle into homework and reading time with staff nearby. Then they enjoy art, games, and outdoor play on our 2.7 fenced acres or in the indoor gym until parents pick up, as late as 7 PM.

Yes. School-age children can attend full days during most school breaks and all summer, with hot breakfast, hot lunch, and snack included. Full-day school-break care is listed as All Day Schooler on our tuition page. We close only on our listed major holidays.

Not yet. Today our school-age program focuses on homework and reading time, art, games, and outdoor play. Additional enrichment programs are listed as coming soon on our school-age page, and we will announce each one when it is actually running. Ask us what is planned when you tour.

After-school care is $155 a week when paid on Monday, and the published rate is on our tuition page. The price includes afternoon snack, homework and reading time, and play until 7 PM. CCS enrollment help is available; ask us about current CCS status.