Three faculty members with the Montessori School of Camden (MSC) have been certified at the Early Childhood level (ages 3-6). Meek Duren, Oscar Avila and Kenia Dayeh de Bermudez were recognized Feb. 24 at the annual conference of Montessori Educational Programs International (MEPI), held at Litchfield Beach. MEPI is one of about eight professional societies in the United States that oversee Montessori teacher preparation. All three teachers studied under Mariyam Petiwala through the Institute for Guided Studies (IGS), located in Camden. IGS is one of only four programs in South Carolina accredited to train educators to work in Montessori classrooms in both public and private schools. The course consists of 270 contact hours of instruction and a year-long internship. Avila and Bermudez completed their internships at the Camden facility, and Duren spent her internship year at Love of Learning Montessori School in Maryland. All three had been assistants in various classrooms at MSC prior to their studies, and since certification all three have become primary classroom directors.