The University of Rhode Island is home to two laboratory preschools, the URI Child Development Center on the main campus in Kingston, RI, and the Dr. Pat Feinstein Child Development Center in downtown Providence, RI. The URI CDCs are part of the URI Department of Human Development and Family Science, and they also collaborate closely with the URI College of Education to provide meaningful experiential learning opportunities for education students. The URI Child Development Centers believe it is essential to listen to diverse voices from within the school community, the campus community, and the surrounding community to inform policy, practice, and research. A deep commitment to anti-bias education and diversity, equity, and inclusion is of critical importance to the program.

The URI CDCs have a three-pronged mission that mirrors that of the university, with a focus on teaching, research, and service/outreach. Relative to teaching, the CDCs provide year-round, extended day, high-quality early care and education for 64 children across four mixed-age preschool classrooms (two in Kingston and two in Providence). Fulfilling a teaching mission for university students, the CDCs host approximately 150 practicum students per year, as well as several hundred students who visit to complete focused observations for course assignments. In addition to hosting HDF and education students, URI graduate students in the Speech-Language Pathology program complete clinical placements at the URI CDCs. The CDCs serve as research sites for URI faculty and students, and the program also collaborates with students from the Rhode Island School of Design who visit to pilot their own original toy designs with preschool children. In the area of service, the CDCs function as a resource for early childhood educators across the state by offering professional development opportunities and opportunities for observation and consultation. Service learning projects such as food drives to help local pantries are regularly integrated into the preschool curriculum. In relation to outreach, a new collaboration with the URI Osher Lifelong Learning Institute has brought older adults (aged 50+) into the preschool for innovative intergenerational art programming. 

The URI CDCs are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and are both rated as five-star programs by Rhode Island's Quality Rating and Improvement System, BrightStars. URI CDC staff are actively involved in supporting state-level early childhood education workforce development initiatives, including Rhode Island's Early Childhood Registered Apprenticeship program. Additionally, dozens of high school students enrolled in Career and Technical Education programs focused on child development, education, and psychology visit the CDCs each semester to observe high-quality early education in action, engage in discussion with teachers, take walking tours of the campus, and learn more about the various career and college pathways into the early childhood education field.

The URI CDCs believe in the intrinsic value of each child as a unique individual. The program strives to enhance the development of each child to the fullest extent. The CDCs believe children learn through meaningful hands-on play experiences with interesting materials that match their interests and abilities. Rich play experiences and meaningful interactions with others help children work towards meeting early learning standards through an emergent curriculum approach. The curriculum is implemented through a consistent daily schedule, well-defined classroom environments, a positive verbal climate, a range of developmentally appropriate instructional strategies, peaceful guidance techniques, and open-ended activities. Based on the belief that children are best understood within the context of their family and community, the CDCs strive to foster strong reciprocal relationships with families and to utilize knowledge of the communities we serve to inform the emergent curriculum.