Photo: Alessandra Hartkopf for Strategies for Children

Today we congratulate the center- and school-based early education programs in Massachusetts that have earned accreditation or reaccreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children since February 19, 2013. We also offer congratulations to the family child care providers in Massachusetts who have earned accreditation or reaccreditation from the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) since the beginning of 2013.

To those who have earned accreditation or reaccreditation, NAEYC offers a marketing and communications tip: Spread the word to your local newspapers and media outlets. Accredited programs can find a news release template in their program record. This is a great way to publicize your accomplishment and highlight the importance of high-quality early learning settings.

NAEYC accreditation is a widely accepted proxy for quality, and Massachusetts boasts more NAEYC-accredited programs than any other state in the country. The Department of Early Education and Care includes accreditation in the standards for the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), which assesses program quality, provides incentives for programs to improve and offers valuable information for parents.

The rigorous NAEYC accreditation process measures 10 standards that range from curriculum to family engagement. Accredited programs use a research-based, developmentally appropriate curriculum that promotes children’s social, emotional, physical, language and cognitive growth. These programs also support teachers’ professional development, promote children’s health and nutrition, use age-appropriate methods to assess children’s development and maintain collaborative relationships with parents and guardians.

Congratulations to the following thirty-three programs that earned accreditation or reaccreditation since February 19:

Amesbury: Amesbury Elementary School

Boston: Roxbury Head Start, Neighborhood Involvement for Children’s Education, Inc., Gertrude E. Townsend Head Start, John F Kennedy School

Boylston: Tahanto Regional Preschool

Brookline: The Judge and Mrs. Lewis Goldberg Nursery School

Cambridge: Morse Preschool

Canton: Cole-Harrington Children’s Center

Chicopee: Stefanik School, Belcher School, Bowie Memorial School

Dudley: Mason Road School – Preschool & Kindergarten Program

East Bridgewater: Central School Preschool

Falmouth: The Sandpiper Nursery School

Feeding Hills: Selser School

Franklin: F.X. O’Regan Early Childhood Development Center

Gardner: MOC Child Care and Head Start Services-MWCC Site

Great Barrington: Muddy Brook  Elementary School

North Attleboro: Animal Crackers Nursery School, Inc.

Northampton: Community Action @ Vernon Street

Norton: Self Help, Inc. Head Start Preschool Programs

Plymouth: South Shore Early Education and Care

Revere: Revere Early Childhood Program, Garfield Avenue & Tuckerman Street

Seekonk: The Children’s Workshop – Seekonk

Southbridge: Worcester Community Action Council Head Start, Marcy Street & Pleasant Street

Spencer: Worcester Community Action Council Head Start, Maple Street

Springfield: Magic Years at the YMCA of Greater Springfield, MA

Taunton: East Taunton Elementary School, Joseph C. Chamberlain Elementary School

Ware: Kidstop Preschool

NAFCC operates the only nationally recognized accreditation system established specifically for home-based family child care providers. NAFCC accreditation has standards in five content areas: relationships, environment, developmental learning activities, safety and health, and professional and business practices.

“There have been many studies that have shown that accredited providers offer a significantly higher quality of care than others,” notes Kathy Modigliani, who runs the MA-based Family Child Care Project. In going through the accreditation process, Modigliani observes, early educators put into practice what they learn in college courses or Child Development Associate (CDA) training. “To motivate providers to put what they are learning into practice is something accreditation is important for,” she says. “I really think accreditation for both centers and homes is a critical piece in the Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) because it assesses what is happening in the program.”

Congratulations to the 11 family child care providers in Massachusetts who earned NAFCC accreditation or reaccreditation since January 1, 2013:

Everett: Latifa Hakim, Augusta Jean-Denis

Fall River: Joyce Perry

Foxboro: Margaret Wheeler

Holden: Ellen Tawczynski

Lowell: Chamroeun Khat, Lourdes Ayala

Medford: Maria Russo

Revere: Lilian Vega

Worcester: Fernanda Arantes, Waldir Cruz