Des Moines Area Community College recently issued the following announcement.
DMACC’s Program is Recognized Among the Top in the Nation
- The DMACC Child Development Center received its first accreditation from NAEYC in 1989.
- Less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally receive this recognition.
- “It is an honor to be part of NAEYC to ensure that high quality care and education is provided to young children at DMACC,” said DMACC CDC Coordinator Sherri Sciarrotta
NAEYC Accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality-improvement in high-quality early learning environments.
“We are proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and excited to continue the legacy of commitment to high quality care and education,” DMACC Child Development Center Coordinator Sherri Sciarrotta said. “Our program received our first accreditation from NAEYC in 1989 and is one of 78 accredited centers in Iowa.”
The DMACC CDC is a unique setting where the laboratory school is used for the training of early childhood education teachers. The main objective of the center is to maintain a high level of quality early care and education based on the latest information and research.
“Our nationally accredited center provides a “live” laboratory for students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program,” Sciarrotta said. “This includes a developmentally appropriate and an anti-bias approach to curriculum planning and materials, developmentally appropriate practices with regard to how children are guided and integration of services available for children and their families. It is an honor to be part of NAEYC to ensure that high quality care and education is provided to young children at DMACC.”
To earn NAEYC accreditation, the DMACC CDC went through an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC Assessors to verify and ensure that the program met each of the ten program standards, and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.
In the 30 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. More than 6,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC—less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools, and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.
“NAEYC-accredited programs have committed to a process that takes time, energy and dedication to complete” said Alissa Mwenelupembe, Senior Director Early Learning Program Accreditation. “DMACC CDC has demonstrated their commitment to young children and their families.”
For more information about NAEYC Accreditation, visit the NAEYC website.
The DMACC Child Development Center is a full-day child development program serving around 45 eight-week-olds through five-year-olds. The center is licensed by the Department of Human Services and has an Iowa QRS, Quality Rating System, five-star rating. The center was first accredited by the NAEYC in 1989.
Original source can be found here.
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