The Executive Director’s Message

Matt Eldred, President/CEO

Welcome to TLC Learning Center! Thank you for taking the time to learn more about TLC Learning Center. Each day at our school is an exciting new opportunity to enrich the minds of our students, and we hope your child will join us.

TLC Learning Center welcomes students regardless of race, gender, national and ethnic origin, and is non discriminatory in all our policies. TLC’s classrooms serve children of all developmental abilities and backgrounds from six weeks until kindergarten-ready with full-day programs in a year-round, fully-inclusive program.

Our pediatric therapy program works with children from birth to age 12 in pediatric speech, occupational, and physical therapies. Therapists can see children both on-site at TLC, and throughout the community in hospitals and family homes.

Please contact us regarding availability for your child, and to schedule your personal tour of our school. We will be happy to answer your questions and provide additional information about our educational programs.

Kind regards,

Matt Eldred
Executive Director

Mission

TLC Learning Center exemplifies caring, comprehensive, inclusive early learning, therapeutic services, and family and caregiver support through a wide range of programs and services.

• Inclusive Learning Environment: We excel in inclusive, flexible, responsive learning environments and community.
• Family and Caregiver Support: We provide education, resources, and reliable support to families and caregivers.
• Leadership and Advocacy: We are leaders in early learning and therapy services for children and youth through demonstration of innovative and evidence-based practices and advocacy for disability rights.

Commitment to Equity

We honor and celebrate the diverse makeup of our community through an intentionally inclusive program that provides equitable learning opportunities and encourages the exploration, understanding, and appreciation of individual differences, perspectives, and cultures. TLC strives to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment for all members of our community so that every member feels welcomed, valued, honored, and respected, regardless of ability, race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or age. We believe that embracing and celebrating our differences and commonalities is an integral part of the cognitive and social-emotional growth of each member of our community and is as important now as it was when our Center was founded in 1956.​

Why Inclusion?

Children with a wide variety of needs are part of our early learning community. Our inclusive classrooms educate children with various learning styles and abilities, and our teachers’ strong knowledge of child development helps them to successfully teach young children with all talents, interests, and abilities. In effective inclusive programs, teachers adapt activities to include all students, even though the individual learning goals of each child may be different for the activity.

Children may have a developmental disability that delays some developmental milestones, or they may have an accelerated development pace, making acquisition of kindergarten-readiness concepts easy for a child. All needs are recognized and adapted for in TLC classrooms.

In high-quality early childhood programs, inclusion is simply an example of the regular practice of meeting the individual needs of each child and family. No two learners are alike, and inclusive schools like TLC place great importance on creating opportunities for students to learn and be assessed in a variety of ways.  TLC teachers consider a wide range of learning styles in designing instruction and utilize nationally recognized research-based curriculum that meet K-12 Common Core State Standards and prepare each TLC student for success.

The TLC Advantage

Other strategies used in TLC classrooms to ensure individualized attention include:

• Differentiated instruction to meet each child’s needs.

• Year-round child care and therapy services to ensure continuity of care.

• Teams of teachers and therapists working together to enhance social-emotional development and overall outcomes.

• Inclusive classrooms where children of all abilities learn side by side, cultivating compassion, empathy, and leadership skills in every student.

• Dedication to the Pyramid Plus approach to promote positive behavior development.

• TLC is a Level Four Colorado Shines program.

Our inclusive model enhances the way in which all of our students are accepted, assessed, and progress through our levels of programming.

At TLC, each child is prepared to reach their highest potential.

Our History

In the 1950s, Longmont’s parents of children with disabilities had few options for their children to attend school close to home. They could do as they were advised and place their children in institutions or they could keep their children at home with no local, specialized programs to meet their children’s needs. In 1956, that changed when a group of Longmont families took action on their shared vision: their children would be able to stay in their community AND receive the necessary therapies and educational experiences critical to their development. They founded The Tiny Tim Learning Center.

In 1990, The Tiny Tim Learning Center preschool moved to an inclusive preschool model, serving children with and without special needs. This inclusive educational model has resulted in assisting all children to reach their highest potential through individualized support and encouragement, improving outcomes for all children in our care.

In 1997, The Tiny Tim Learning Center expanded to include pediatric therapeutic services to children from birth to 12 years of age. Through this program, we offer individualized therapy sessions in the home, at our therapeutic facility, in our preschool classrooms, or at other community sites that enhance the development of the child.

In 2013, The Tiny Tim Learning Center became TLC Learning Center, a new name for a new era of inclusive childcare and pediatric therapy services.

In 2014, TLC launched our infants and toddlers program, creating a continuum of care spanning from six weeks until children are ready for kindergarten.

In the following years, TLC grew by adding new toddler and preschool classrooms, now totaling nine classrooms dedicated to infant, toddler, and preschool learning. Our therapeutic services team practices in a variety of settings: within the Center’s early learning classrooms, in clients’ homes, in our Center-based therapeutic spaces, and in the community. Therapy services are provided both in-person and via Telehealth, depending on families’ needs.

TLC Board of Directors

TLC board members are comprised of local community leaders with the time and energy to commit to a monthly board meeting, volunteering at our annual fundraising events, and representing TLC in the community at foundation interviews, awards dinners, and in the grocery store aisle. All TLC board members are volunteers, and 100% provide financial support to the center (although there is no minimum requirement), as well as advocate for TLC in the community to help bring in dollars from businesses, grantors, and friends to support TLC programming.

Our board members are accountants, doctors, teachers, lawyers, TLC alumni parents, grandparents of neurotypical and neurodivergent children, and more! A diverse board comprised of professionals and community leaders from all backgrounds and areas of expertise represent the diversity of the children we serve and the breadth of the community we serve. If you’re interested in joining our board, we’d love to hear from you!

• TLC Board of Directors application (word): Please complete and return to our Executive Director Matt Eldred at meldred@learningwithtlc.org. TLC is always looking for potential members with a passion for community service. We will keep all applications on file for when an opening is available.

• TLC Board duties (pdf)

• History of TLC Learning Center (pdf)