What is accreditation for early childhood programs?
Early childhood program accreditation means that an early childhood program-child care center, preschool, kindergarten, or before-and/or after-school programs voluntarily applied for accreditation by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs. The program then engaged in an extensive self-study based on the Academy’s Criteria for High Quality Early Childhood Programs. The accuracy of the program’s self-study was verified during a site visit to the program by a team of trained volunteer validators. The validated self-study, including the program director’s responses to the validation visit, was reviewed by a three-member national commission composed of experts in child care and early childhood education, judged to be in substantial compliance with the Academy’s Criteria, and granted accreditation for a three-year period.
