The Little School at Duke, located at 1516 Hull Avenue, is managed by The Little School of Hillsborough. This center has a capacity for 170 children. The Little School at Duke is a five-star rated child care center located on campus for the exclusive use of Duke faculty, staff, and students. Duke faculty and staff must be in a benefits eligible position.
Enrolling Your Child
The Little School at Duke is currently accepting applications for the 2026-2027 program year, which begins August 1. Limited part-time options* are also available.
Spaces available
3 yr olds (birthdates 9/1/2022-8/31/2023)
- 3 Full-time spots
- 1 Th/F
- Apply Online ($50 application fee)
*Part-time options at The Little School at Duke are Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday or Thursday/Friday.
Tuition Rates
Tuition Rates effective September 1, 2025
| Age group | Full week | 3 day MTW | 2 day ThFr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $1,955 | $1,427 | $1,004 |
| One year old | $1,857 | $1,357 | $948 |
| Two year old | $1,673 | $1,221 | $853 |
| Preschool | $1,590 | $1,162 | $811 |
Who We Are
The Little School began as a dream in 2004 when Jennifer Adams searched for quality care for her own children. Mary Swanson joined her in 2005, marking the start of the adventure and the opening of the first Little School. TLS at Duke opened in 2012. Owners Jennifer and Mary are long-time friends and share a continued commitment to providing the highest quality early childhood experience for the children in their care. This deep sense of friendship and community continues to define us as a school. We love what we do, and it shows.
Principles That Drive Us
- We respect each child's natural inclination to enjoy the unexpected. We recognize that children are driven to engage in active exploration and investigation to make sense of their world, and we are confident in their ability to construct their own meaning of their experiences.
- We believe it is our calling to fuel children's investigative impulses, encouraging discovery, promoting questioning and challenging of ideas, and helping them formulate connections of experience.
- We are committed to creating and supporting the essential collaboration between the school, family, and community to fully support the development of the child.
- We are fueled by our conviction that learning is a joyful experience.
What Your Child Will Experience
Your child will experience the world through their senses in the following ways:
- Sight: They will see beautiful, creative spaces designed with children in mind, with furnishings reminiscent of a sweeter time, including comfy chairs and beautiful rugs. They will see designated spaces for quiet, loud, natural engagement, and exploration.
- Touch/Emotion: They will feel the textures of clay, paint, mud, and dirt. They will also feel safe, respected, confident, connected, curious, powerful, validated, unhurried, accepted, composed, and heard as a valued part of a community.
- Sound: They will hear laughter, squeals of joy, reassuring voices, and sounds of excited discovery. They will also hear birds and insects, rain on the roof, and trees rustling in the wind.
- Taste: They will taste delicious, whole foods created by talented and passionate chefs. Examples include cinnamon granola with fresh fruit, ziti pasta with grape tomatoes, spinach pesto, citrus vanilla bread, crunchy cauliflower, and vegetarian sloppy joes on brioche buns with cheddar cheese and crackers.
- Smell: They will smell bread baking for morning snack, freshly cut herbs and vegetables gathered by the children for lunch, and the sweet smell of fruit freshly cut for afternoon snack. Other smells include paint and clay, mulch and mud, grass and trees, and the fresh, sweet smell after a summer storm.
About The Little School at Duke
For more information or to experience the school firsthand, please visit us at www.thelittleschool.net.
Location: 1516 Hull Avenue, Durham, NC 27705
Phone: 919-354-6600
Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday, 7:15 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Capacity: 170 children
Ages: 12 weeks - 6 years
Classrooms for each age level: Infants, Toddlers, Twos, Threes and Preschool
Curriculum Highlights and Enrichment Activities: TLS at Duke is a full-day preschool and child development center offering a nurturing, exploratory, educational program. We are Reggio-inspired and Conscious Discipline guided.
Our unique food program includes locally grown, organically raised products when possible, prepared by our on-site professionally trained chefs.
Playground: Natural outdoor play spaces including vegetable gardens, sand boxes, water play, and mud cafes.
The Little School at Duke is managed by The Little School of Hillsborough.