For more information, contact:
Kristina Gawrgy
202-350-8857
kgawrgy@naeyc.org
For Immediate Release:
May 24, 2007
NAEYC Associate Degree Accreditation Earned by 12 Colleges Nationwide
National program sets standard of excellence in early childhood teacher education
(Washington, DC) – The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has granted accreditation to twelve new associate degree programs. The association’s Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation system establishes professional preparation standards to raise the quality of teacher education, and in turn raise the quality of early childhood education programs serving young children.
“Teacher quality is a crucial component in providing high-quality early childhood education to millions of children across the country,” said Jerlean Daniel, Ph.D., NAEYC’s Deputy Executive Director. “Establishing high standards for associate degree programs is an important step towards raising the quality of all teacher preparation programs.”
NAEYC Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation recognizes associate degree programs at colleges across the country that meet a high standard for preparation of teachers. The newly accredited early childhood associate degree programs are located at the following institutions:
- Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL
- Kennedy-King College, Chicago, IL
- Richard J. Daley College, Chicago, IL
- Cape Cod Community College, West Barnstable, MA
- Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock, NC
- Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston-Salem, NC
- Gaston College, Dallas, NC
- Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, NC
- Vance-Granville Community College, Henderson, NC
- Central Carolina Technical College, Sumter, SC
- Midlands Technical College, West Columbia, SC
- Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, Orangeburg, SC
Both Head Start and many state pre-kindergarten programs call for an associate’s degree or higher for teachers, as well as many child care and preschool programs. NAEYC’s professional standards for early childhood degree programs provide a high measure of quality by which programs can be evaluated.
Five programs earned accreditation in 2006, bringing the total number of NAEYC accredited programs to seventeen in the first twelve months of operation. NAEYC Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation began with a field test in 2005, and there are now 127 associate degree programs from 35 states enrolled in the accreditation system. Teacher quality is instrumental in providing high-quality early childhood programs that serve young children, and this accreditation system raises the quality of all associate degree teacher education programs by providing the first national standards by which associate degree programs can be uniformly measured.
Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children has more than 100,000 members worldwide. The association is the largest and most influential advocate for early care and education in the United States.
For more information about the new NAEYC Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation system, visit
www.naeyc.org/faculty/asdeg.asp
Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children has nearly 90,000 members worldwide. The association is the largest and most influential advocate for early care and education in the
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Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children is the largest and most influential advocate for high-quality early care and education in the United States.
