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Preschool staff committed to excellence by Cindy Abole Public Relations Finding quality child care that’s safe, nurturing and within a healthy environment is what every parent and guardian wants for their child.   In 2003, about 64 percent of U.S. mothers with children under age 6 made up the country’s labor force. That means at least half of working parents' children were in some kind of day care. Studies have shown that quality matters when very young children are placed in child care and the availability of quality child care may determine whether a parent goes to work or stays at home.       MUSC Child Development Preschool is the result of a special partnership between MUSC, the Church of the Holy Communion and Today Care Children Centers to help provide quality daycare.      MUSC Child Development Preschool  staff are Marchela Kolvea, from left, Staci McMillan-Sprik, Kim Hovren, Jodi Reason and Melissa Brown.  MUSC preschool director Kim Hovren and her Today Care teaching staff insist on providing quality and safety for  children. In the last few months, Hovren  assembled a team of talented teachers who share  a compassionate and committed interest in the healthy development of children. She is joined by teachers Jodi Reason, Marchela Kolvea, Staci McMillan-Sprik and Melissa Brown. Aside from sharing more than 60 years of total teaching and preschool experiences, many of the staff are also mothers who have experienced the emotional strains of separation from their children as working mothers.     “It’s amazing how we’ve assembled such a dynamic group of women,” said Hovren. “Their backgrounds, ages and experiences may be all very different but are enough to complement one another in our talents and abilities. Everyone is genuinely concerned about each other in the way family members care. It was a dream to be able to assemble a team that clicked together so well from the start.”   TodayCare is a seasoned corporate child development and management company that operates more than 600 centers within professional settings such as colleges, hospitals, banks and law firms throughout the Southeast and California. Their mission is to focus on each client’s specific needs and develop a quality child care program around those needs. Their partnership with MUSC  currently is one of their smallest preschool programs. TodayCare, in cooperation with MUSC, is exploring the  potential to expand the program into a full-sized, traditional preschool center with services to include infants, toddlers and after-school programs.   Aside from helping the 25 preschool children selected for the pilot program adjust and settle into a routine, Hovren and her teachers are focused on achieving program accreditation with the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC). All TodayCare Children Centers pride themselves with being NAEYC-accredited programs. According to Hovren, the team has already begun meeting the 160-step process that’s part of accreditation. As they’ve unpacked items and set up classrooms, the group labeled items and arranged things in accordance to NAEYC standards. Hovren feels confident that MUSC’s program will be a fully-accredited facility within a year.      “MUSC’s preschool is designed to fully prepare  preschool-age children for kindergarten. That’s the difference between what we provide and other child care centers and day school programs," she said. "We understand the develop-mental needs of children in this age group and provide a curriculum that will meet the right needs.”      Responding to a continual need for sound, affordable and convenient day care within the Lowcountry, MUSC’s preschool is expected to attract many interested MUSC, MUHA and UMA employees, faculty and students. Asked what qualities attracted teachers to be part of MUSC’s program, many said they were impressed with being involved from the ground level in opening a new child development program.     “It’s exciting to be part of something new with quality equipment and facilities. But what really attracted me was MUSC’s reputation as an excellent health care provider and resource in the community,” said Brown, a Lowcountry native and mother of two living in West Ashley. “I knew it would be a quality-level program.”      This effort  reflects about five-years of work between university and hospital authority faculty and staff 's  cooperative effort and successful creative planning. Organizers felt that offering a limited pilot study would be the only feasible and realistic opportunity to implement a service that would be both timely and successful within the project’s timeline.      “We want to assure parents that their child will be part of a wonderful nurturing environment that’s staffed with genuinely caring, friendly and professional people,” said McMillan-Sprik. “Right now, we’re ready to open and excited to begin working with the children.” Child Development Preschool openhouse Starting Dec. 4 to Dec. 15, the MUSC Child Development Preschool at the Church of the Holy Communion (218 Ashley Ave.) will be open to interested parents, guardians and children to visit.   The open house event will be staffed by teachers who will answer questions and tour people through the facility between 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., weekdays throughout this event. The preschool will initially begin as a pilot program for 25 children, ages 3 to 5.   The preschool’s enrollment period will be from Dec. 18 to 22. Enrollment will be managed online with selection process controlled by an independent lottery system. The preschool will open to students Jan. 8.   General information about the preschool can be found at its Web site at http://www.musc.edu/businessservices/childdevelopmentpreschool. Child Development Preschool staff Kim Hovren, director—California native, mother of two . Associate degree in early childhood studies; bachelor’s degree in business management and administration; master's degree in education; 12 years experience with day care and preschool programs Jodi Reason, teacher—Apple Valley, Minn., mother of two. Bachelor’s degree in political science; currently working on associate degree in early childhood studies. Possesses more than 10 years experience as a preschool teacher Marchela Kolvea, teacher—Bulgaria native, mother of one. Possesses three master’s degrees in languages; taking early childhood studies classes for certification; possesses more than 24 total years experience teaching in Bulgaria; two years experience teaching preschool in USA Staci McMillan-Sprik, teacher—Holland, Mich. Associate degree in early childhood studies; seven years experience working with children in multiple settings since high school; worked at a public school preschool prior to relocating to Charleston Melissa Brown, teacher—Lowcountry native, mother of two. Taking early childhood studies classes for certification; more than seven years experience as a preschool teacher.     Friday, Dec. 1, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.