he whole church community is invited to celebrate this week, and in the coming months, the onboarding of a new nursery school director, Deb Hansen. Deborah “Deb” Hansen comes to the Swarthmore Presbyterian Nursery Day School (SPNDS) with more than 35 years of experience working with children in educational settings. Deb earned a BA in History from Earlham College and worked with children at Trinity Cooperative Day Nursery (TCDN) while getting her master’s in education from Widener University. She retired from the School District of Philadelphia after 27 years working as an elementary teacher, science teacher and teacher leader. A long time Swarthmore resident, Deb is married to Jim McConnell, and they have two children, both of whom attended Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools.

As Director of SPNDS, Deb’s responsibilities will include managing the preschool, supporting teachers, children, and families, and serving as the liaison with the church and SPNDS’s Advisory Board. She begins service in this role just a few weeks before the end of the school year to allow good overlap with Cathy Conahan, who has served as Interim Director since mid- December, and to begin to get to know the many teachers and all the routines and imaginative processes through which our preschoolers and their families are nurtured.

Deb enjoys spending time in nature and especially enjoys sharing the wonder of our world with children. She looks forward to learning joy with these little people every day. To learn more about SPNDS, click here.