FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristian Sekse
443-845-4395 (C)
ksekse@everstand.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 27, 2016 — The Board of Child Care’s Early Learning Program, located in the Southeast (SE) quadrant of Washington, D.C., has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) – the nation’s leading organization of early childhood centers.
This approval follows the Board of Child Care’s certification in February from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and last month’s license for the West Virginia campus in Martinsburg to offer Functional Family Therapy (FFT).
BCC earned outstanding scores within the 10 NAEYC program standards the ELP was judged and evaluated upon. NAEYC awarded BCC 100 percent marks in five categories, 96 percent or better in two other standards, giving BCC a mean score of 95.8!
“NAEYC is the gold standard and recognized nationally for quality early learning programs like ours,” said Cora Jackson, Assistant Program Director of the DC ELP. “It says that our program is a place where all children can learn, grow and thrive, because of our exciting and rich learning environments, nurturing, engaging, and knowledgeable teaching staff, and committed families.”
The NAEYC certificate, conferred June 6, 2016, is valid through July 1, 2021. The certificate is based upon evaluated proficiency in 10 program standards, each group or classroom observed during a site visit, as well as all candidacy and other required criteria. The required criteria include scoring 80 percent or better for each program standard and 70 percent or better for each classroom or group observed.
“What these numbers tell me is we’re very successful at what we do and justifies why we have a waiting list to get into the program in DC,” said Laurie Anne Spagnola, BCC’s President and CEO. “It also means we have some outstanding programming in place to enrich the children and families we serve, and that is most important.”
To earn NAEYC accreditation, the Board of Child Care went through an extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related accreditation criteria. Additionally, NAEYC assessors conducted an on-site visit. NAEYC-accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their five-year accreditation.
In the 25 years since NAEYC Accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high quality early childhood education. NAEYC validates 7,000 programs, or just approximately eight percent of all preschools and other early childhood programs.
About the Board of Child Care
Enriching communities, one family at a time, BCC’s $27 million annual budget provides programs across the Mid-Atlantic. Offerings include residential care, treatment foster care, early childhood education, therapeutic counseling, adoption information and referral, and a special education school. Headquartered in Baltimore, BCC operates facilities and group homes throughout Maryland and the Eastern Shore, WV and D.C.
To learn more, visit www.boardofchildcare.org.
###END###