This content was published: March 2, 2012. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Sylvania’s Child Development Center garners prestigious national accreditation
Photos and story by Kate Chester
The Child Development Center at the Sylvania Campus has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.
“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 Deborah Sipe, director of the center. “This accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible.”
Sylvania's youngest 'students' at the Sylvania Child Development Center.
The Sylvania Child Development Center is a lab school for the Early Education and Family Studies Program and serves the student families of the Sylvania Campus, as well as children of staff and faculty.
To earn the accreditation, the center went through an extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against the association’s early childhood program standards – 10 total – and more than 400 related accreditation criteria. The program received accreditation after an on-site visit by assessors to ensure that the program meets each of the program standards. Accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their accreditation, which lasts for five years.
This is the same organization that awarded accreditation to the Sylvania-based Early Education and Family Studies Program last year.
In the 25 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education, Sipe said. She added that more than 7,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC – approximately eight percent of all preschools and other early childhood programs.