Child Development Center earns accreditation

According to a press release from NAEYC, the organization’s 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’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards,” said Lona Downs, Center Director. “The center believes in play-based learning where children's work is their play, and their play is their work. All children can learn if given the opportunity to become actively involved in their world, supported by loving, caring adults who understand child growth and development.”

To earn NAEYC Accreditation, the 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 10 program standards, and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. The NAEYC accreditation term lasts 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 child care 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 of Early Learning Program Accreditation. “The Chadron State College Child Development Center has demonstrated their commitment to young children and their families.”