Child Care Center Reaccredited

09/23/2013 

The SUNY Cortland Child Care Center recently earned reaccreditation from the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals. It is is currently the only  program in Cortland County accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

“It’s an honor to have earned this recognition from NAEYC and to continue to occupy the ranks with other high quality programs throughout the nation,” said Nicole Brooks, executive director of the Child Care Center.

In the 25-plus 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, approximately 8 percent of all preschools and other early childhood programs. 

It is the fifth time the SUNY Cortland Child Care Center has been reaccredited.

The center is currently licensed to serve 108 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years of age. That includes 41 more clients since 2009, when the opening of a new state-of-the-art Education Building and Childcare Center expanded the center’s capacity.

The center is operating at full capacity and has a waiting list of more than 150 children.

NAEYC created its accreditation system in 1985 to set professional standards for early childhood education and to help families identify high-quality child care and early education programs. Programs are accredited by NAEYC for a five-year period.

To earn NAEYC accreditation, the center went through an extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related accreditation criteria. The standards encompass all areas of the program, including health and safety, physical environment, educational levels of staff, program standards for children and parental satisfaction.

The SUNY Cortland Child Care Center received NAEYC accreditation after an on-site visit by NAEYC assessors. NAEYC-accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their accreditation process.

“The NAEYC Accreditation system raises the bar for child care centers and other early childhood programs,” said Jerlean E. Daniel, Ph.D, executive director of NAEYC. “Having earned NAEYC Accreditation is a sign that the SUNY Cortland Child Care Center is a leader in a national effort to invest in high-quality early childhood education.”

For more information about NAEYC accreditation, visit www.naeyc.org/academy.

For more information about the SUNY Cortland Child Care Center, contact Brooks at 607-753-5955.