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History
Our Founder and Executive Director, Mary Beth Claus Tobin brings over 35 years of experience working with school age, early childhood and afterschool programs. Mary Beth holds a B.A. from Emmanuel College, Boston, and an M.S. from Wheelock College, Boston. A member of NAEYC since 1974, Mary Beth has also been active in her local Community Partnership Council since its inception in 1995. Mary Beth was a founding member of the Natick Children’s First Council and served for a period as co-chair. She was the first woman president of a Needham Service Organization, serving as President of the Needham Jaycees in 1985. As one of eleven founding Board Members of the Massachusetts Independent Child Care Organization (MICCO), est. 1990, Mary Beth later served as President. A member of the Massachusetts Department of Education Early Childhood Advisory Council, Ms. Tobin served on the Standards Subcommittee and the Curriculum Workgroup and was a contributor to The Early Childhood Program Standards for Three and Four Year Olds as well as a contributor for the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences© 2003 Massachusetts Department of Education. As an active member of The National Child Care Association (NCCA), in 1999 Ms. Tobin was among a group of 30 early childhood professionals across the U.S. invited to be part of a professional exchange to Cuba. In December 1999, Ms. Tobin traveled to Cuba representing the U.S. visiting schools, hospitals, and child care centers as well as meeting with government officials. Identifying a need for early childhood educators to collaborate and support teachers professional development, Mary Beth founded the The Early Childhood Professional Association (TECPA) in April 2001. TECPA provides training to teachers in Natick and surrounding towns. TECPA now provides professional development in Needham and Westwood. Recently, Ms. Tobin was nominated for the Needham High School Distinguished Career Award. In addition to her role at The Tobin Family of Schools, Ms. Tobin is a partner at Sojourn Transportation, LLC. Sojourn is a small bus company dedicated to safe and professional transportation. Sojourn’s General Manager and most of its drivers are EMT’s and local firefighters. In November 2008, Ms. Tobin's article, "The 360° Evaluation in an Educational Setting", was published in Child Care Information Exchange, as well as in Exchange EveryDay, an on line publication with a worldwide subscription of 85,000. In addition to her role as an educator, Ms. Tobin is a wife, mother of four and grandmother of three. Ms. Tobin considers educating children and inspiring professionals to be her life’s work. The Tobin School Timeline 2002-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011
The Tobin School is a member of:
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Philosophy
Founded in 2004 by Mary Beth Claus Tobin as a complement to her highly regarded early childhood, afterschool, and summer programming, the Tobin School has grown from a small class of 5 kindergarten students to a thriving, educational community with 71 students and nearly 20 faculty members. Since 1980,