Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center

Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center offers year-round early childhood education, after school care, and family support based on a play-centered, play-based curriculum. The program provides a learning environment based in social justice and focuses on supporting the needs of working parents. Each day, the center provides quality care and education for more than 100 children and serves more than 400 meals.

• Ages: 0–11 years old
• Schedule: Open Monday–Friday from 8am–5pm, operating 52 weeks per year, with infant/toddler and preschool programs from 8am–5pm and a school-age program in session during school breaks and after school, closing only on major US holidays

Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center was founded by Ethel Seiderman in 1973 and has been operating for more than 50 years, serving over 6,000 children since it opened. The program serves more than 100 low-income children each year, from infancy through 5th grade, and serves 99% low-income Marin County families striving to stay rooted in their community. Over half of the families are led by single parents, and more than 75% of parents are the first in their families to graduate from college. The center serves more than 75% of families who live in Ross Valley and nearby neighborhoods and is the only childcare and family program for low-income families in Ross Valley and communities beyond. It partners with the Seiderman Legacy Children’s Fund and provides transportation for 65 school-age children from local school sites to the center.

The mission of Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center is to provide high quality early care and education to children, supporting a diverse population of families and community. The program’s stated goal is to support and increase children’s school readiness skills while providing a safe and healthy learning environment, to enhance family well-being, and to foster parent leadership in the community. The center also offers parent workshops and resources to enhance family well-being and foster parent leadership.

Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center is conducting a historic capital campaign to transform the historic Deer Park School property into a permanent, modern campus for learning, play, and community. One infant center family described it as a “wonderful program” that “creates community for children and parents,” and a preschool family described FSACC as “a lifeline” for their family, providing “not just care, but community.”

Last updated February 12, 2026.