Info for Families

WHAT IS EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM ACCREDITATION?

An early childhood program/child care center, preschool, kindergarten, or before- and/or after-school program‚ voluntarily applied for accreditation by the NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation. The program then engaged in an extensive self-study based on the Academy’s Criteria for High Quality Early Childhood Program. The accuracy of the program’s self-study was verified during a site visit to the program by volunteer validators. The validated self-study, including the program director’s responses to the validation visit, was reviewed by a national commission composed of recognized experts in child care and early childhood education, judged to be in substantial compliance with the Academy’s Criteria, and granted accreditation for a five-year period.

The early childhood program agreed to act upon the commission’s suggestions regarding areas needing improvement and to submit annual written reports documenting improvements and continued compliance.