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Child Development Center earns prestigious national accreditation

The Academy Child Development Centers were recently granted accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This prestigious recognition has been achieved by only about 7 percent of early childhood programs nationwide.

PHOTO: A Child Development Program assistant cares for two infants in the Child Development Center’s Green 1, a room just for babies 6 weeks to 6 months old. Photo by James Lovely

    "I think it's really important to families that they know that their child is in a quality place and (accreditation) is a way of measuring that quality. This is a great honor for us and means that we are recognized as a leader in child care," said the Child Development Center director.

    Recent reports by the National Women's Law Center, a research and advocacy group, and the New York Times laud the military child care system as a model for the nation. Due to the mandated improvements in the Military Child Care Act of 1989, the military created a network of child care centers, child care in family homes and before- and after-school programs.

    The number of child care slots were nearly tripled. Training requirements, safety and health standards and child-to-staff ratios were established and rigorously enforced. The military also raised wages for experienced caregivers to levels significantly higher than those in the civilian sector. It also provided substantial subsidies to ensure that child care is affordable to low-income families.

    These improvements and others were made possible through increased funding. The budget for military child care has risen from $90 million in 1989 to $339 million in the last fiscal year.

NAEYC accreditation
    NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous, voluntary process by which early childhood programs demonstrate that they meet national standards of excellence. Programs seeking accreditation undergo an extensive self-study, collecting information from parents, teachers, administrators and classroom observations.

    They receive an on-site visit, conducted by early childhood professionals especially trained by NAEYC, to validate their self-study results. All of this information is independently reviewed by a team of national experts which grants or defers accreditation. When awarded, accreditation is valid for three years. This is the fourth time the Academy CDC has been reviewed and received accreditation.

    The heart of accreditation focuses on the child's experience. The process carefully considers all aspects of a program including health and safety, staffing, staff qualifications and physical environment. The greatest emphasis is on the children's relationships with the staff and how the program helps each child grow and learn intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally.

    "We have all kinds of opportunities for boys and girls to develop to their fullest. "In the meantime, the parents are feeling very, very confident that we'll care for their children in a very good way and so they're able to do their jobs at a very high level of excellence."

    Research supports the value of accreditation for children. Children's language and social skills especially benefit from the better quality found in NAEYC accredited programs. These are critical areas for children's success in school, as well as in life.

    NAEYC accreditation began in 1985, with the first program accredited in 1986. The Academy Child Development Centers first received accreditation in 1993 and every three years thereafter with the centers receiving a Merit Extension in 1999 for sustained professional quality for children.

    The Academy Child Development Centers serve about 330 children ranging in age from birth through five years.

    For more information about NAEYC or the accreditation process, access NAEYC's web site at www.naeyc.org/ or call NAEYC's Public Affairs Division at (202) 232-8777 or (800) 424-2460.

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