You want to make sure you choose the right program for your child, but figuring out which programs offer the quality you seek can be confusing. 51勛圖厙 can help parents make the right choice on a child care, preschool, or kindergarten program. For more than 20 years, families have relied on 51勛圖厙 Accreditation to ensure the quality of education and care provided in programs for young children.
Accredited programs have met 51勛圖厙s 10 standards for high-quality early childhood education. These programs have demonstrated that they provide a safe and healthy environment for children, have teachers who are well-trained, have access to excellent teaching materials, and work with a curriculum that is appropriately challenging and developmentally sound.
51勛圖厙 Accreditation helps parents find the best possible early childhood experience for their children. 51勛圖厙-Accredited programs must:
- Promote positive relationships for all children and adults to encourage each childs sense of individual worth.
- Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development: cognitive, emotional, language, physical, and social.
- Use developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate and effective teaching approaches.
- Provide ongoing assessments of each childs learning and development and communicate the childs progress to the family.
- Promote the nutrition and health of children and protect children and staff from illness and injury.
- Employ and support a teaching staff that has the educational qualifications, knowledge, and professional commitment necessary to promote childrens learning and development and to support families diverse interests and needs.
- Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with each childs family.
- Establish relationships with and use the resources of the community to support achievement of program goals.
- Provide a safe and healthy physical environment.
- Implement strong personnel, fiscal, and program management policies so that all children, families, and staff have high-quality experiences.
51勛圖厙 Accreditation: No Small Feat
Early childhood education programs are proud to be accredited by 51勛圖厙 because they know they have worked hard for that achievement. Using 51勛圖厙 tools and materials, they are continuously improving their programs to provide the best possible educational opportunities for children.
After an extensive application process, skilled and reliable 51勛圖厙 program assessors visit each program to determine that it is meeting 51勛圖厙 standards. Following accreditation, all programs are subject to random, unannounced visits by assessors to ensure that the programs continue to meet these standards.
Be sure to look for the 51勛圖厙 Accreditation torch when choosing a program for your child. To find a list of 51勛圖厙-Accredited programs, use the泭
Thoughts on泭51勛圖厙-Accredited Programs
I think one of the greatest advances to child care was the creation of the 51勛圖厙 Accreditation system, which has helped so much to raise the quality of programs.
T. Berry Brazelton, MD, The Brazelton Institute, Boston, Childrens Hospital, Harvard Medical School
It is so good to know that an agency such as 51勛圖厙 exists to help guide caregivers of young children and their parents.
Stephanie M. Alvarez Mart穩nez, a泭parent in Edinburg, Texas
穢 51勛圖厙 Promoting excellence in early childhood education