Children's International School
history of cis
Our founder, Beatrice Tierney, has extensive experience as an early education and language development educator. Her upbringing, passion for working with children and love for a multicultural and diverse community inspired her to start Children’s International School. Drawing from her background as an ESL teacher, the first CIS location opened in 1985 in Arlington, Virginia to help immigrant non-English children assimilate into the American school system and learn more about the language/culture before entering kindergarten. Ms. Tierney’s mission was to ensure that these children would develop self-confidence to help them succeed. As an immigrant child herself, she understood the challenges of not being able to speak English when starting a new school.
As the years have gone by, CIS has grown into four locations and our mission has evolved yet we still strive to provide preschool aged children with a high-quality program to set them up for success.
For years, Beatrice traveled around Europe and Asia, visiting schools to volunteer and study different methodologies. In 1980, she traveled to Italy to study the Reggio Emilia approach, a world-renowned philosophy that promotes holistic learning. She became fascinated by the Reggio Emilia Approach because of the elements of creativity and documentation inherent to the approach.
At Children’s International, we recognize the Reggio core values and aim to create an environment that enriches young minds.
CIS Leadership Team
Maria O'Lenick
Director, CIS Arlington
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Ms. Maria has over 40 years’ experience working in the education field, inclusive of elementary and early childhood education. She has been with CIS for 8 years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. Prior to CIS, she worked as a Director in Head Start in Arlington for 12 years and as Assistant Director and Director at IDB for 6 years. She also worked with the School of Educators in Peru providing Early Childhood Education to teachers via online.
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Her philosophy about Early Childhood Education is a child’s early years are the foundation for his or her future development, providing a strong base for lifelong learning and learning abilities, including cognitive and social development. Early Childhood Education is an essential building block of a child’s future success.
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Daphne Canales,
Director, North Scott Location
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Ms. Daphne is from Venezuela and obtained a degree in Early Childhood from Andres Bello Catholic University.
After moving from Venezuela to the USA, she worked in the education field. She has 17 years of experience in early childhood education. She enjoys implementing a curriculum that is deeply rooted in the Reggio Emilia Philosophy, inclusive and creative, creating spaces where observation and natural wonders can be explored.
As a Director, her aim is to offer children a safe environment where they can thrive. She also strives to foster relationships between the children, families, and teachers to create a community where we can all belong.
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Gayle Gregoire
Director, Foreign Service Institute
Gayle Gregoire has 20 years of experience as an Early Childhood Director. She has been a
Director at CIS for the past 8 years. Previously she was an Assistant Principal at a parochial
school and was a teacher of preschool to third grade. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in
education from the University of North Carolina. Additional postgraduate courses in education
were obtained from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA, and the University
of Nebraska in Omaha.
She served on the board of the NAEYC and was on the Fairfax County School Readiness Team
which coordinated preschools with public school personnel to promote school readiness to
ensure smooth transitions to kindergarten. Most recently she initiated Virginia’s Quality
Education Program from Birth to Five (VQB5) at the CIS North Scott Street location.
She along with the staff work together to create a safe and nurturing environment that gives
children a sense of belonging. Through play and interactions with a rich environment, children
can grow with a love for learning and discovery.
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Monica Tierney
Education Program Manager & Community Outreach Coordinator, Children's International School
As the Program Manager, Monica helps to oversee our four CIS locations. She has over 15 years of experience in the education field. Prior to CIS, she worked at Columbia University, Phillips Van Heusen, and the United Nations focusing on human rights issues, primary education, and capacity building projects in developing countries.
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She designs a Reggio-inspired curriculum that inspires curiosity, creativity, and 21st-century skills. As a certified humane educator, she enjoys teaching children to become engaged and empathetic social citizens. She also is the founder of an award-winning educational startup which has been featured in Good Housekeeping, Creative Play Magazine, New York Journal and the Patch. ​
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Monica holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology & Italian from the University of Virginia, a Master's Degree from NYU in International Education as well as certification in Sustainable Business from NYU Stern School of Business.
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Riri Solonirina
Program Coordinator
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Mr Riri Solonirina Ranaivojaona is oringinally from Madagascar and obtained an Associate Degree Diploma in Management, Leadership and Communication from a private University in Madagascar.
Mr Riri has years (20 years) of experience in managing countless projects both in the US with the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as overseas. Mr Riri has worked as a Business Development Manager, Finance Associate Officer, Disaster Specialist, Commodity Management, Monitoring and Evaluation of multi-projects as well as Program Development Reviewer. Mr Riri is also an international trainer (Prime Trainer) on top leadership and communication and his certificate was obtained from the Junior Chamber International (JCI) – school for leadership, management and international communication.
As our Program Coordinator, Mr. Riri assists with monitoring the day-to-day activities of the CIS schools.
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