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 for their children. The program is an inclusive community-based program licensed to care for children from infants through 4 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 and her husband Jonathan joined the TCS family in fall of 2020, and their daughter is a Toucan. Kate is originally from Ohio, but has lived in the DC area for almost 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!
Eric Duchaj,
Vice President
Eric and his wife Chloé have two children at TCS, in the Lorikeets and Owls. Eric grew up in Scottsdale, AZ and attended Northern Michigan University. After graduation, he moved to Maryland where he taught for seven years. Since 2016 he has taught HyC Social Studies, PE, Health, Personal Finance, and Economics at Meridian High School in Falls Church.
Danny Yu,
Treasurer
Danny 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 about 20 years now. He is a finance executive at a national non-profit in Washington DC.
Crystal Burgess,
Secretary
Crystal and her husband Justin have been part of the TCS family since 2016. Their oldest is a TCS graduate and current APS 1st grader while their youngest is in the Swans class. Crystal has been a health and PE teacher in various schools in APS since 2008.
Ken Bickel
Ken and his wife Becca are native Washingtonians. They lived in Arlington for over six years before moving to Falls Church in 2020. Ken is a commercial real estate professional while Becca teaches 3rd grade at Carlin Springs Elementary. Their son is a Toucan and has been at TCS since 2020.
Scott Painter
Scott and his wife Julia have three children, a dog, three fish, and a racing snail (which is rather slow). Their youngest is in the Cranes class, and the older two are in 4th and 6th grades in APS. Scott and Julia met when placed at the same school with Teach For America. They moved to Virginia in 2015. Julia is an epidemiologist with a PhD focused in behavioral vaccinology. Scott teaches physics at Yorktown High. School.
Elizabeth Treble
Elizabeth and her husband Chris and their two children, Riley and Cameron, have been a part of the TCS community since 2019. Elizabeth is a nonprofit fundraising executive with more than 15 years of development experience. Chris teaches World Geography at Williamsburg MS. Elizabeth is grateful for the phenomenal educators at TCS, and to the amazing network the community has provided to her family.