The Child Development Lab at the McPhaul Center, a unit of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, is one of the first in the nation to receive accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children under a new system that requires child care programs to meet more than 400 separate criteria.
“Receiving NAEYC accreditation demonstrates the commitment of our teachers and our staff to providing a quality educational experience to all of the children who attend our program,” said Amy Kay, lab director. “There were a lot of people who put in a lot of work to document what we do, and I’m grateful to them.”
In the 23 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become the gold standard for early childhood education, according to Diane Bales, an associate professor of child and family development.
“Achieving NAEYC accreditation, particularly under the new guidelines, takes a long time and is challenging to accomplish,” Bales said. “Programs have to meet standards regarding the physical structure, the curriculum and the qualifications of the teachers that are much stricter than what’s required for state licensure. In addition, the ratio of teachers to children is lower under NAEYC requirements.”
The CDL currently serves 91 children from infants through pre-kindergarten.
