History

A History of Little Folks:

Little Folks School began in 1973 when a small group of Georgetown parents began a playgroup, taking turns hosting it in their homes.  A few years later, the desire to have a consistent location for the children and teachers led the school to take residence in the Dumbarton Methodist Church on O Street NW, before moving  to the Georgetown Presbyterian Church at 3115 P Street NW, Little Folks School’s home for the next twenty-five years.

In 2003, Little Folks School moved to a historic townhouse on N Street NW, while we began the process of finding a permanent home. In the fall of 2013, Little Folks School opened its doors in its brand new, permanent home at 3247 Q Street NW.  Finally, we had a space to call our own!

With an indoor gym space, called the “Green Room,” a beautiful park one block away, an area for parents to gather for coffee clubs, a full kitchen for cooking projects, and five classrooms tailored just for “little folks,” we are thrilled to have a permanent home in Georgetown! Learn about our yearly celebrations here.

Gay Cioffi - First Head of LFS:

Gay Cioffi was the Director of the Little Folks School in Washington, DC for 38 years. 

Gay Cioffi has written extensively about early childhood.  Her papers on early childhood education have been presented at the Oxford Round Table, Oxford, University, at the National Association of Early Childhood Education Conferences and at the Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.  Her essay, “The Right Place: Nursery School in the Twenty-First Century” was published in the book, Choosing the Right Educational Path for Your Child. 

In addition to writing about early childhood, Gay has developed workshops for parents and caregivers on topics such as The Importance of Play, Discipline, Affluenza, and How to Talk to Children About Death.

Gay now enjoys time with her family and travelling, you can keep up with her at her website Little Folks, Big Questions

This year while celebrating 50 years of Little Folks, we have honored Gay with her own scholarship fund so she can continue championing early childhood throughout her life. This scholarship, the Gay Cioffi Scholarship Endowment Fund, is supported by people like you! If you'd like to support this fund, the link is here.

The History Behind 3247 Q St:

Our wonderful home, 3247 Q St was built in 1908 and was a functioning dairy distribution plant! Known as Storm and Sherwood Dairy, it began as a small farm in Fairfax VA and constructed our building to have a central location. Our building was placed on the National Register as a Historic Landmark in 1994.