Built by a military spouse & former teacher

Find the right preschool before you unpack a single box.

NearBase is the AI-powered preschool finder built for military families. Tell us where you're PCSing. We'll find schools that actually fit — with real waitlist times, military discounts, and insider knowledge no directory has.

★★★★★ Free to search  ·  Built for PCS families  ·  NCR + growing
🪖
Martinez Family — PCSing to Pentagon
2 children: ages 3 & 18 months · Summer 2026
95 match
95
The Gardner School — Arlington
1.8mi to Pentagon · MCCYN accepted · 7am–6pm
Top pick
88
ToTH Montessori — Navy Yard
Nido from 3mo · DC subsidy · Deployment flexible
Both kids
Free
LAMB PCS — NW Washington DC
Free Montessori charter · Spanish immersion · PK3+
Apply Dec
⏱️
40–60 hrs → 20 min Average search time saved
300,000+ families PCS every year
38 schools verified in NCR database
18 program types mapped — including programs no one else lists
PCS season May – August — apply early

From orders to enrolled — in minutes, not months.

No more Facebook groups, dead links, or outdated directories. NearBase gives you a ranked list with everything you need to decide.

1
Tell us where you're headed

Enter your duty station or zip code. NearBase maps every program within reach — including ones that don't show up on Google.

2
Set your family's priorities

Ages, curriculum, hours, military discounts, special needs, sibling availability, deployment flexibility. Your Match Score updates in real time.

3
Get your ranked matches

Ranked results with Match Scores, verified waitlist times from real military families, and AI-powered explanations for every recommendation.

4
Connect and enroll

Contact schools directly. Track waitlists. Get alerts when spots open. NearBase walks you through every step — from first search to first day.

Other directories show you a list.
NearBase shows you a plan.

👶
Two kids, two different searches.

A 3-year-old and an 18-month-old require completely different programs. NearBase is the only platform that treats them as two simultaneous searches — with a sibling filter that finds schools accepting both children at once.

📞
Know the waitlist before you call.

NearBase families report waitlist times, director responsiveness, and tour experiences after every phone call. You see real, current data — not a profile last updated two years ago.

🆓
DC's best preschools are free. Most families never find out.

Free Montessori public charters, DCPS PK3 programs, Head Start, Early Head Start — NearBase surfaces every free and subsidized option. Apply to the My School DC lottery before your orders come through.

Apply to the CDC the day orders arrive.

On-base Child Development Centers have 12-18 month waitlists. NearBase tells you this before you waste weeks on the wrong search. Urgency signals save families from missed windows.

300,000+
military families PCS every year
40–60 hrs
average family spends searching for preschools
20 min
what NearBase cuts that to
500+
programs mapped across the NCR — and growing

Every family's search makes the next one easier.

When you contact a school on NearBase, we ask one simple question: "How did it go?" Your answer — waitlist time, director warmth, whether they knew about EFMP — flows back into the platform and helps the next military family who calls that same school.

"AI won't know what is behind closed doors at these preschools. But military families who inquire will."

The 40–60 hours you spend searching doesn't disappear. It pays forward to the family arriving six months after you.

Start your free search →

Military families are searching for your school right now.

If you don't have a web presence, they can't find you. NearBase builds your website, lists your school, and puts you in front of thousands of military families during PCS season.

One enrollment from NearBase covers years of your subscription. The website we build belongs to you — even if you ever leave.

Talk to Kelly → kelly@nearbase.net
$49
/mo
Starter
Full NearBase verified listing, Match Score visibility, military family badge, waitlist reporting access, analytics dashboard.
$299
/mo
Partner
Everything in Presence + featured search placement, verified partner badge, real-time self-update dashboard, priority support.

Built by someone who lived it.

★★★★★

"I was PCSing to the Pentagon with a 3-year-old and an 18-month-old and had no idea where to start. NearBase gave me a ranked list of schools that took both kids, told me the CDC waitlist was already 14 months, and flagged two free Montessori programs I never would have found."

Army spouse — Arlington, VA
★★★★★

"As a former teacher, I knew what a good school looked like — but I had no way to find them in a new city on a 6-week timeline. NearBase was the first resource that actually understood what I was looking for."

Marine Corps spouse — PCSing to NCR
🌱

"Finding the right preschool shouldn't depend on who you know. Every child deserves a great start — not just the ones whose families happen to stumble across the right school at the right moment."

Kelly Brown — Founder, NearBase · Former teacher & military spouse
Finding the right preschool shouldn't depend on who you know.
Now it doesn't.
Start your free search →