The popular Early Childhood Center (ECC) was formerly housed in the Ripley School; beginning in September 2008, the ECC moved into a larger home at the Franklin School, which ceased operating as an elementary school in the 1980s and has since been used as a "swing school" to house students displaced by construction. The North Suburban Child and Family Resource Network also currently rents space in the school.
The ECC, under the guidance of Director Jenny Corduck, runs the Melrose Public Schools' tuition-based preschool, pre-kindergarten, Title I and multi-age programs for children 3 and 4 years old. The facility has a large indoor area dedicated to gross motor development, an outdoor playground, and a family room full of resource materials on child- and family-related topics. Eligible students may receive Speech-Language, Occupational and Physical Therapy services at the Franklin Early Childhood Center facility.
