Fairfax-San Anselmo Children's Center

Together We’re Building Brighter Futures

We encourage learning that promotes questioning, curiosity and self-discovery. 

It gives me time to run my business without any stress.

We are trustful of this program. We love what you all do, no complaints!

Great teachers, staff and everyone! It always feels like a home to me!”

—School Age Family

Vision & Legacy

From Roots To Renewel: A New Chapter For The Center

A new partnership is born!

Now, thanks to a partnership with the Seiderman Legacy Children's Fund (SLCF), a dream has been realized: the historic Deer Park School property has been purchased —now the Center has a permanent home that will ensure the delivery of critically needed services to children and families for generations to come.

The next step is bold: launching an historic capital campaign to transform Deer Park School into a safe and vibrant modern campus for learning, play, and community.

Why Now?

For more than 50 years, the Fairfax San Anselmo Children’s Center (FSACC) has been a cornerstone of our community, offering year-round quality early childhood education, after school care and family support regardless of a family’s ability to pay. It is the only childcare and family program for low-income families in the Ross Valley and communities beyond. FSACC stands apart as a beacon of equity, inclusion and accessibility serving working families, single parents, and those most in need. The Center serves 100+ low income children each year - infants up through 5th grade. A safe environment is equity in action.

For many children, our Center is the only consistent, secure place they know. With your support, we will renovate our new facility to meet modern seismic, fire, and ADA safety standards—creating classrooms and outdoor spaces where every child can learn and thrive, regardless of family income.

“Wonderful program, we’re so grateful, creates community for children and parents!”

- Infant Center Family

Who Are The Children And Families?

The Center has served nearly 6,000 children since its founding in 1973.

Our Campaign Priorities

Building A Campus For The Next 50 Years

Ensuring safe environments in childcare is an investment in equity: it guarantees that every child, regardless of family income, has an equal opportunity to grow, learn, and reach their full potential.

“In order for a child to thrive their family must thrive.”

Ethel-

Impact

Tranforming Lives, Strengthing Community

FSACC is in a unique position. There are multiple pathways to success for families and we are part of the pathway to each family’s ability to thrive. Each day at the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center we successfully provide:

Quality care and education for 100+ children, 400+ meals, and transportation for 65 school age children from local school sites to the Center.

Our 2025 family survey reported:

Our latest family survey shows high satisfaction and positive impact. Nearly all families reported being very satisfied with our services, and almost every parent said their children are happy in our program. The vast majority shared that our childcare services made it possible for them to keep their jobs, and most said it even allowed them to take on new employment opportunities.

FSACC has been a lifeline for our family- providing not just care, but community.”

- Preschool Family

Every day, we see our impact—children thriving, parents finding stability, and families gaining access to vital support. But as families’ needs grow more complex, we must go deeper.

County services are stretched thin, and the families we serve rely on us daily. They trust us to respond quickly, provide personalized support, and prevent short-term challenges from becoming long-term crises. From mental health and food insecurity to housing and job stability, these challenges are real and rising.

We believe our greatest opportunity—and responsibility—is to strengthen the support we provide. We are more than child care. We are a lifeline for families navigating today’s most pressing challenges.

Our Credo

We do the most important work.We believe in the child and the family unconditionally. • We treat the child as an achiever.We are the cheering squad for the child and the parents.We applaud their successes, urge them to take risks, and turn their setbacks into new challenges. We are nurturers, not smotherers.We encourage learning that promotes questioning, curiosity and self-discovery.We adore them so they will believe in their specialness.We are more ready to compliment than criticize, to praise than berate, to encourage than insult.We believe that in each moment lies the possibility and potential for making each child feel better about him/herself and walk with their head high.We honor each of our roles in the partnership of caring for children. • We enable others to excel. Who we are with each other is an example of who we will be with the children.We will not confuse power and control with discipline and learning.We will be clear about what we ask of children. Is it for their benefit or ours?We will require excellence of ourselves, avoid mediocrity, and strive for compassion and humanness.We will sustain a sense of hopefulness and optimism, keeping alive wonder, freshness and good humor.

-Founder, Ethel Seiderman, circa 1986