Hilltop Community Children's Center
Hilltop Community Children's Center, 201 Orchard Pl, Pittsburgh, PA 15210
About
Hilltop Community Children's Center offers monthly parental educational opportunities and family friendly activities. The program provides diapers and wipes for each child and uses the ProCare app for check-ins, messaging, and daily activities. Classrooms include social/emotional, gross motor, fine motor, sensory, STEAM, language, and math learning every week.
• Ages: 8 weeks–5 years old
• Schedule: Monday–Friday, with wrap around care available 7:00am–5:30pm and preschool programming from 8:30am–4:00pm
Infants through toddlers use The Creative Curriculum, and all preschool classrooms use a combination of Learning Beyond Paper curriculum and Frog Street. Teachers record observations on Teaching Strategies and hold conferences at least twice per year. The center has low child-to-staff ratios and small group sizes, with qualified, trained teachers and nurturing caregivers.
Hilltop Community Children's Center has a history that goes back to 1988, when it operated as St. Canice Child Care Center under its founder, Marcia Walters, who later purchased the building from the Diocese and renamed it Hilltop Community Children's Center. Marcia Walters served families at Hilltop until her retirement in 2023. The space is over 100 years old and includes the Carol Thompson Memorial Library.
The program works with Early Head Start for infants and toddlers and has both a Head Start and a PreK Counts classroom for children 3–5 years old. It offers three preschool options for children 3–5: a Head Start preschool classroom, a PreK Counts classroom, and a private preschool classroom for over-income families or children who do not meet the age deadline for PreK Counts or Head Start. A unique Family Support component offers monthly parental educational opportunities, family friendly activities, help with paperwork and doctor appointments, and support in finding resources needed for a healthy life. A support person is available to help with family needs. The program accepts subsidy from ELRC and CYF as well as private pay tuition.
Hilltop Community Children's Center is the only NAEYC-accredited and Keystone 4-Star childcare center in the Hilltop area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and holds Pennsylvania Keystone STARS Level Four, the highest rating in that system. The program states that its passionate team is dedicated to providing a nurturing and educational environment for children to learn, grow, and thrive, and that it believes in the importance of early childhood education and strives to make a positive impact on young children and their families.
Families have shared written feedback about their experiences. Brendon’s family reports that he feels happy and safe in the infant room and that his parents feel good leaving him there. Jude’s family shares that he feels welcome in preschool, enjoys seeing staff every day, and talks about them every night. Sierra’s family notes positive communication with staff, describes Sierra as loving to come each morning, and reports changes in her social skills and behavior. Owen’s family thanks the staff for thoughtfulness and patience in the classroom and describes Hilltop as a safe and organized place for him to learn and grow at a young age.
The center is currently raising $25,000 for building repair and maintenance for its space that is over 100 years old, and an additional $30,000 to transition one of the preschool rooms into an infant and toddler room.
Last updated July 12, 2026.
• Ages: 8 weeks–5 years old
• Schedule: Monday–Friday, with wrap around care available 7:00am–5:30pm and preschool programming from 8:30am–4:00pm
Infants through toddlers use The Creative Curriculum, and all preschool classrooms use a combination of Learning Beyond Paper curriculum and Frog Street. Teachers record observations on Teaching Strategies and hold conferences at least twice per year. The center has low child-to-staff ratios and small group sizes, with qualified, trained teachers and nurturing caregivers.
Hilltop Community Children's Center has a history that goes back to 1988, when it operated as St. Canice Child Care Center under its founder, Marcia Walters, who later purchased the building from the Diocese and renamed it Hilltop Community Children's Center. Marcia Walters served families at Hilltop until her retirement in 2023. The space is over 100 years old and includes the Carol Thompson Memorial Library.
The program works with Early Head Start for infants and toddlers and has both a Head Start and a PreK Counts classroom for children 3–5 years old. It offers three preschool options for children 3–5: a Head Start preschool classroom, a PreK Counts classroom, and a private preschool classroom for over-income families or children who do not meet the age deadline for PreK Counts or Head Start. A unique Family Support component offers monthly parental educational opportunities, family friendly activities, help with paperwork and doctor appointments, and support in finding resources needed for a healthy life. A support person is available to help with family needs. The program accepts subsidy from ELRC and CYF as well as private pay tuition.
Hilltop Community Children's Center is the only NAEYC-accredited and Keystone 4-Star childcare center in the Hilltop area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and holds Pennsylvania Keystone STARS Level Four, the highest rating in that system. The program states that its passionate team is dedicated to providing a nurturing and educational environment for children to learn, grow, and thrive, and that it believes in the importance of early childhood education and strives to make a positive impact on young children and their families.
Families have shared written feedback about their experiences. Brendon’s family reports that he feels happy and safe in the infant room and that his parents feel good leaving him there. Jude’s family shares that he feels welcome in preschool, enjoys seeing staff every day, and talks about them every night. Sierra’s family notes positive communication with staff, describes Sierra as loving to come each morning, and reports changes in her social skills and behavior. Owen’s family thanks the staff for thoughtfulness and patience in the classroom and describes Hilltop as a safe and organized place for him to learn and grow at a young age.
The center is currently raising $25,000 for building repair and maintenance for its space that is over 100 years old, and an additional $30,000 to transition one of the preschool rooms into an infant and toddler room.
Last updated July 12, 2026.
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