ABOUT TCS
The Children’s School, Inc. (TCS) is a non-profit corporation established by employees of Arlington Public Schools (APS) to provide quality childcare and an early childhood education. The program is an inclusive community-based program licensed to care for children from infants through 5 years of age. The school is located in a brand-new dedicated facility on Langston Boulevard at Glebe Road in Arlington, Virginia.
Opened in 1987, the program was the first childcare facility in the United States to be owned and operated by employees of a large school system. Since then, TCS has gained a national reputation as a model facility.
TCS is open to all members of the community, with discounted tuition rates available to families of APS employees. We are also honored to be partners with the APS Integration Station (IS), offering integrated education programs for children ages 2-5 with disabilities. IS is a longstanding and valued part of the TCS community.
TCS is a parent cooperative and every family enrolled in TCS automatically joins the co-op.
Meet the Board
Kate Towne,
President
Kate (she/her) and her husband Jonathan joined the TCS family in fall of 2020, and their daughter is a Crane. Kate is originally from Ohio, but has lived in the DC area for over 20 years and is now settled with her family in Falls Church. She is an IT and software manager for a structural engineering firm, while Jonathan is a software developer. They are very grateful to have found the TCS community!
Danny Yu,
Treasurer
Danny (he/him) and his wife Katie have been part of the TCS family since their son Liam first joined the Sandpipers in 2021. They have been Arlington residents since 2015 along with their older son Connor and dog Luna. Danny grew up in southwest Virginia but has been in the Washington DC area for over 20+ years now. He is a finance and operations executive at a non-profit in Washington DC.
Andie Pitchford,
Secretary
Andie (she/her) and her husband Brian have a daughter in the Finches. Andie and Brian are long time Arlington residents, both graduated from Yorktown HS. Andie is a former middle school math teacher and currently works in continuing education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Her family loves walking (or scootering!) to school with their puppy, Bauer. Say hi if you see them!
Sondra Dietz
Sondra (she/her) has a son in the Owls and a daughter who was formerly a Flamingo. Sondra and family live in Arlington, where Sondra also works for the County's health department. In addition to being a mom, Sondra is a dog person, carb lover (especially pizza and bagels from her home state, New York), and a true crime podcast enthusiast.
Elizabeth Rowden
Elizabeth (she/her) and her husband Michael first joined the TCS family in fall of 2016, when their twin boys were in the Cardinals classroom. Currently, they have a daughter in the Lorikeet's classroom while their youngest son started as a Cardinal this fall. Originally hailing from Buffalo, NY (Go Bills) and Michigan (Go Blue), the Rowden family lives in Arlington. Elizabeth works for Arlington Public Schools in the Early Childhood Office. Her free time is mostly filled with carpooling kids to a variety of sports practices and events, but she enjoys family walks, watching football, and reading in her downtime.