PIQUA – Edison State Community College’s Child Development Center once again has been granted accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
NAEYC granted five-year approval to the center on April 24.
“We’re very proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards,” Child Development Center Director Holly Ovenshire said.
To obtain reaccreditation, the Edison State Child Development Center went through an extensive self-assessment process measuring the program and its services against the 10 NAEYC program standards as well as hundreds of related accreditation criteria. The center received NAEYC accreditation after an on-site visit by NAEYC assessors to ensure that it met each of the 10 program standards.
“For the past year, the Edison Child Development Center staff and administration have worked diligently to compile evidence to show how the program meets the standards set forth by the NAEYC,” Ovenshire said.
The center met all 10 research-based program standards with high commendations. The standards include relationships, curriculum, teaching, assessment, health, teachers, families, community relationships, and leadership and management.
Sustaining accreditation from the NAEYC is an ongoing process. During the five-year accreditation period, the center will be required to make annual reports documenting that it has maintained compliance with the program standards.
Edison State’s Child Development Center is a developmental program of care and education for children ages 3 to 10 years. The program is open to the children of local communities as well as to children of Edison students, faculty and staff. The goal is to provide engaging and developmentally appropriate activities that promote the social, emotional, physical, cognitive and creative growth of children. The program observes staff/child ratios of one teacher for every eight children.
Since 1985, NAEYC has offered a national, voluntary accreditation system to set professional standards for early childhood education programs and to help families identify high-quality programs. Today, NAEYC accreditation represents the mark of quality in early childhood education. These programs provide high quality care and education to nearly 1 million young children in the United States, its territories and programs affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.
In the 30 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. More than 7,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC – less than 10 percent of all child care centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.
“NAEYC-accredited programs bring our definitions of excellence for early childhood education to life each day,” said Kristen Johnson, senior director of Early Learning Program Accreditation at NAEYC. “Earning NAEYC Accreditation makes Edison State’s Child Development Center an exemplar of good practice for families and the entire community.”
For more information about Edison State’s Child Development Center, visit www.edisonohio.edu.
For information about the NAEYC Accreditation, visit www.naeyc.org.
