| OUR ROOTS |
The Children’s Workshop is not a large company with a cookie-cutter approach.
It once was a family owned company and has always recognized how valuable early childhood education is.
Dave MacDonald founded the company in 1990. At the time, he was a small business owner and struggled as many of his employees found themselves unable to return to work because they could not find quality, affordable child care. In order to provide this much-needed benefit to his staff, Dave made space available in his office building to create a superior early learning facility.
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From these humble beginnings, The Children’s Workshop was born. The first school, located in Lincoln, RI, opened its doors with only 18 children, but grew to 80 within a matter of months. In fact, Dave’s youngest daughter, Kate, was among the first graduating class of preschoolers and she now works for TCW.
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It quickly became clear that additional high-quality programs were being sought by families throughout the region. The Children’s Workshop expanded to 21 centers across Rhode Island and Massachusetts, meeting the educational, emotional and developmental needs of some 1,800 children daily... including Dave’s grandchildren, Louis, Molly, David, Niko and Sara – most of whom are pictured here with Dave and his daughters, Maggie Teller and Bailey Kent. Maggie and Bailey ran the day-to-day operations of the company for years and now sit on the board of directors.
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Today, The Children's Workshop functions solely as a non-profit organization, serving the Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, Rumford and Warren, RI communities.
A LETTER FROM
THE FOUNDING FAMILY
There is no more difficult, nor important, a decision parents can make than where to place their children for care and learning in their early years…and rest assured that there is no better place for children to begin their journey than The Children’s Workshop! As a Rhode Island based organization, TCW employees live and work in the communities they serve. They strive to always put families first and consider the needs of employees, customers and all their families in every decision they make.
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The Children's Workshop understands what working parents need and want in their child’s educational and child care experience. They strive to provide convenience, flexibility and most of all, peace of mind. Their incredible teachers and school directors embody the TCW mission of nurturing children, strengthening teachers, supporting families and building communities every day. Yet more importantly, they live the family values that we founded the company upon: trust, respect, passion, hard work and above all – fun!
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As parents themselves, TCW employees operate the schools as they raise their own children – with 2 primary goals in mind: first, to provide a safe environment for the children in their care and second, to create fun learning opportunities so that children will be prepared for the future successes that await them. We hope you will allow The Children's Workshop the great privilege of being a part of your child’s care and education and we welcome your family into the TCW family!