NAPSACC Success Stories

Owning one, let alone two child care centers was not what Alison Welch dreamed of in high school. She knew she wanted to work with children and started her education journey to become a pediatric nurse. Through her studies, she discovered it was not the career for her, but soon learned Early Childhood Education was where she wanted to be. 

Alison was still working on her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood when she opened The Exploration Station-Hess Road in House Springs in May 2016. House Springs is located about 45 minutes southwest of St. Louis. Since then, she has earned two Master’s degrees, including one in Early Childhood Education, and opened a second location, The Exploration Station-Old Gravois Road, also in House Springs, in June 2022. 

Alison is always looking for ways to improve and promote quality in both her programs. When COVID-19 swept over the world, Alison and her staff remained committed to increasing the quality of the program by enrolling in Go NAPSACC (Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment Child Care) in June 2020. 

The Go NAPSACC project, funded by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services since 2019 supports child care program to improve the health young children through practice, policies and environments that instill habits supporting lifelong health and well-being. 

In the Go NAPSACC project, each program is assigned a Technical Assistance (TA) Specialist that provides support, resources, and encouragement to achieve their goals. Alison worked with her TA Specialist, Shannon Carr, to set goals on increasing bright vegetables on the weekly menu and increasing physical activity to 120 minutes each day. Shannon encouraged Alison to involve the teachers, children, and families as they were making changes to achieve their goals, increasing the opportunity for the new habits to be sustained. 

To introduce new foods each month, Alison challenged the families with the question, “What veggies do you think we can get your children to eat this month?” Some parents challenged them to add mangos and squash to the menu, which the children loved. 

With support from Shannon, the families, and the staff, including the cook, the program was excited to serve new fruits and vegetables to the children. The families were impressed. The children enjoy making their own breakfast pizzas with whole grain English Muffins, strawberry cream cheese, and mixed fruit of blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple. 
 
Two years later, when Alison opened the Old Gravois Lodge location, Alison transferred the ideas that had been successful and improved the quality of the Hess Road location. She enrolled the second program in Go NAPSACC and continued working on goals to increase physical activity for all the children, including the infants. The infant staff were more mindful of providing tummy time for the babies and the time spent in stationary equipment. The team from both programs, led by the directors, Melinda Lorentz and Katelyn Sims, have worked to provide more adult-led physical activity for the preschool children by using parachutes, giant foam blocks, and games to maintain the 120 minutes even on inclement weather days. 

They also set goals in the area of Farm to Early Childhood Education. Alison found a local farmer from which she could purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to serve each day. One day a month, they feature a fruit or vegetable from the farmer and provide a snack for families when they come for pick-up. They have featured fresh sugar snap peas with dip and Bell Pepper Salsa. It has been a hit with the families and a great community partnership with the farmer!

Alison believes having the support to modify their menu with additional healthy options and increasing their indoor gross motor activities has strengthened their programs. Families in the program have made positive comments, including those that have toured the program. They are impressed with the healthy menu!

Both locations of The Exploration Station have completed the NAPSACC project. Alison is most proud that they are still seeking ways to improve the quality. Alison stated, “The NAPSACC website, with all the resources, supports that initiative and continues to provide us with opportunities to challenge us to increase best practices for the children in our programs.”

Explore our other Child Care Aware® of Missouri resources:

FREE Clock Hour Training
Scholarships for Educators
Child Care Health and Wellness
Family Child Care Network
Leadership Development Opportunities
Missouri Office of Childhood Updates
Show Me Child Care Resources
Support Child Care Aware® of Missouri
Community Data
Join Our Team
Resources to Build Your Business