NAEYC Accreditation
UIC Children’s Center has been accredited since 1989.
What does it mean to be accredited? Heading link
The National Academy of Early Childhood Programs administers a national‚ voluntary‚ professionally sponsored accreditation system to help raise the quality of all types of preschools‚ kindergartens‚ child care centers‚ and school-age child care programs. The Academy is a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)‚ the nation’s largest organization of early childhood educators.
How does a program become accredited? Heading link
Early childhood programs achieve accreditation by participating in an intensive 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 who grant or defer accreditation. When awarded‚ accreditation is valid for five years.
What does accreditation mean for my child? Heading link
In an accredited program you will see:
- frequent ‚ positive‚ warm interactions among teachers and children
- planned learning activities appropriate to children’s age and development‚ such as block building‚ painting‚ reading stories‚ dress-up‚ and active outdoor play
- specially trained teachers and directors
- ongoing professional development
- respect for cultural diversity
- nutritious meals and/or snacks
- regular‚ two-way communication with parents who are welcome visitors at all times
To learn more about the accreditation process and NAEYC‚ visit their website at:
www.naeyc.org