Early Childhood Education Center renews national accreditation

Indiana State University's Early Childhood Education Center has earned accreditation renewal from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) - the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children.

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.

The Early Childhood Education Center is part of the Bayh College of Education's department of teaching and learning. It has been continuously accredited since 1991.

"We're proud to once again have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards," said Gail Gottschling, director of the center.

To earn NAEYC accreditation, the center 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 10 program standards and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.

"When I got the call (my son) had been accepted (to the center), I couldn't believe it," said parent Megan Bayler. "I never worry about my son during the day. I know he is having a great time learning, playing and getting excellent care. It makes a working mom's day easier."

In the 30 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. More than 7,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC - less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.

"NAEYC-accredited programs bring our definitions of excellence for early childhood education to life each day," said Kristen Johnson, senior director of Early Learning Program Accreditation at NAEYC. "Earning NAEYC Accreditation makes the Early Childhood Education Center an exemplar of good practice for families and the entire community."

For more information about NAEYC Accreditation, go to the NAEYC website.

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Early Childhood Education Center at Indiana State University offers high-quality care for local families.

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Early Childhood Education Center at Indiana State University offers high-quality care for local families.

Media Contact: Gail Gottschling, director, Early Childhood Education Center, Indiana State University, 812-237-2547 or gail.gottschling@indstate.edu