Agency Accomplishments

December 13, 2001
Head Start East Child Care Program Receives Accreditation

Chicago, IL

The Albany Park Community Center's (APCC) -Head Start East Child Care program was recently granted accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This prestigious recognition has been achieved by approximately 7 percent of early childhood programs nationwide - some 7,584 programs as of June 2000, serving 688,987 children. "We congratulate Dina Evans and her staff for their achievement of National Accreditation. AP CC now has all four of its licensed child care services accredited," said Allen J. McKay, President of the Center's Board of Directors.
NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous, voluntary process by which early childhood programs demonstrate that they meet national standards of excellence. Child care centers, preschools, kindergartens, and before and after school programs are eligible to seek NAEYC accreditation. Approximately 15,000 programs are engaged in seeking accreditation.
Programs seeking accreditation undergo an intensive self-study, collecting information from parents, teachers, administrators and classroom observations. They receive an on-site visit, conducted by early childhood professionals especially trained by NAEYC, to validate their self-study results. All of this information is independently reviewed by a team of national experts who grant or defer accreditation. When awarded, accreditation is valid for three years.
"The heart of NAEYC accreditation focuses on the child's experience," said Frank Albanese, Albany Park Community Centers Executive Director. "The process carefully considers all aspects of a program including health and safety, staffing, staff qualifications, and physical environment. The greatest emphasis is on the children's relationships with the staff and how the program helps each child grow and learn intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally."
According to Barbara Willer, spokesperson for NAEYC, research supports the value of accreditation for children. Children's language and social skills especially benefit from the better quality found in NAEYC-accredited programs. "These are critical areas for children's success in school as well as in life," said Willer.

NAEYC accreditation began in 1985, with the first program accredited in 1986. NAEYC is the nation's oldest and largest organization of early childhood professionals dedicated to improvement of quality early childhood education.
NAEYC established accreditation in response to the growing number of American children spending large amounts of time in group settings away from home, and the uneven-and often inadequate consumer protection afforded by state licensing of child care facilities.
APCC's Head Start East Child Care program is located at 5101 N. Kimball, Chicago, Illinois and serves 171 children ranging in age from 3 to 5. "It the philosophy of our program that the classroom is one of the most important groups in a child's life," said Scott McNally, APCC's Program Director. APCC's Pre-School Child Care program will now proudly display the NAEYC torch-the sign of NAEYC accreditation. Parents who look for the torch when choosing child care or early education programs for their children will find programs, which have made a commitment to excellence for young children and families.
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For further information about NAEYC or the accreditation process, access NAEYC's web site at www.naeyc.org/ or contact NAEYC's Public Affairs Division at 202-232-8777 or 800-424-2460.

Albany Park Community Center
3403 West Lawrence Ave., Ste. 300 Chicago IL, 60625
Phone: (773) 583-5111
Fax: (773) 583-5062

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