Making Connections. Raising Quality in Early Learning Through Continuous Growth and Improvement

We use the word quality a lot in early childhood education, yet many assert that there is no shared definition for what quality looks like in early childhood programs. At NAEYC, we believe that high-quality early learning takes place in settings that are developmentally appropriate and that holistically consider all of the facets of a program—the relationships between children and adults, the curriculum that guides the children’s learning, the assessment of that learning, the connections to families and the community at large, the educators’ experience and ongoing learning, and the leadership of the program. All of these work together to meet children’s needs.

For nearly 100 years, NAEYC has focused on the importance of quality experiences for young children, quality work environments for educators, sound policies for working families, and responsive connections for our members. This issue of Young Children touches on many of these areas and more. Research has shown that an effective path toward high-quality early childhood education involves deep commitment and investment from our policymakers.

State Investments

In this issue, two articles focus on state investments. In “The Early Learning Imperative: How the Family Development Program Helped New Mexico Become a Leader in Birth-to-5 Education,” the authors Stephen Preskill and Lois Vermilya share what these investments look like in New Mexico. Likewise, Ryan Alverson and Jaesook Gilbert outline Kentucky’s efforts to expand early childhood education options to families in “Partnering for Success: Elevating Quality Through Kentucky’s Preschool Partnership Grant.” NAEYC is proud of the work that states are doing to raise quality in early childhood education.

Aligning Systems

We also are eager to help make systems align by working directly with them to connect NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation to existing quality improvement systems. Toward this end, NAEYC recently hosted a convening of states that are curious about leveraging NAEYC content, including accreditation and developmentally appropriate practices, in their quality improvement efforts. It was wonderful to hear about the extensive work happening in states about rethinking Quality Rating and Improvement Systems to ensure more resources go directly to programs rather than toward building new systems of quality measurement. Connecticut, for example, has designed its quality improvement system, Elevate, to do just this, and NAEYC has supported it throughout the design process and launch. Our NAEYC accreditation systems (both early learning program and higher education) place a strong emphasis on quality policies and procedures. We know that for a program to have strong policies, it also must have strong leadership. This issue includes two articles reflecting this idea. In “Leading an Early Childhood Team Through the Quality Improvement Process,” Christine Snyder offers seven strategies for program directors and leaders who are navigating accreditation or another option for quality improvement. Likewise, in “Navigating Quality: One Public School System’s Approach to NAEYC Reaccreditation,” Lori Blake and Monique Wilson Gibbs write about how public pre-K programs in the New Haven, Connecticut, school district worked together to pursue NAEYC reaccreditation.

Educator Voices

We also have the opportunity to meet two unique educators in this issue: Maria Wynne, a family child care educator from Indiana, and Afua Ameley-Quaye, an architect-turned-early-learning-environment enthusiast currently attending Arizona State University. I find it important to lift up the voices of educators who are doing important work in the field. They serve as both inspiration and models for all of us, and I was delighted to read the stories of these two educators. Maria, in “Creating Quality in Family Child Care Settings: A Reflection,” and Afua, in “A Supportive and Inviting Atmosphere: A Discussion About the Design and Function of the Physical Learning Environment,” represent the diversity of our profession in many ways, including race, culture, language, setting, and expertise. I am excited to continue to provide a platform for educators to share their lived experiences through our NAEYC publications as well as through NAEYC membership. And so, over the next year, you are going to see NAEYC lean into the notion of quality in new and innovative ways.

Making Accreditation More Accessible

The first big change you will see is connected to our Early Learning Program Accreditation. You may not know this, but I first learned about NAEYC when my three sons attended high-quality, NAEYC-accredited early learning centers. These programs greatly impacted their education and my experience as a parent. While NAEYC accreditation has been a hallmark of quality for the past 40 years, we know that we still have work to do. Our re-envisioned Early Learning Program Accreditation will provide a more accessible experience for programs by offering a new option for engagement called NAEYC Recognition. We also have worked to streamline accreditation content and to simplify language. In addition, starting in March, all Early Learning Program Accreditation content will be in both English and Spanish.

This issue features an article from our NAEYC team on the deep data analysis and research that went into the changes to Early Learning Program Accreditation and how we are thinking about quality assessment going forward. “Re-Envisioning NAEYC Early Learning Quality Assessment and Accreditation: Advancing Equity and Accessibility” reports on a recent research project that informed upcoming changes to NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation. The authors, who are NAEYC staff, situate this project within the history of NAEYC accreditation, and they explain how the COVID-19 pandemic offered an unexpected opportunity to make data-informed decisions about how to re-envision, evaluate, and support quality in early learning.

NAEYC is also engaging in a membership refresh. We are committed to thinking about quality in early learning programs and for our organization. The goal of the changes will be to provide a better, higher-quality experience for our members through our new CARES (Community, Advocacy, Resources, Events, Support) benefits offerings and a redesigned digital platform that will provide a better user experience. I hope that you see NAEYC’s policy and accreditation resources shine throughout this issue as strong measures of quality in early childhood education. My vision for the field is that each and every child and their family can experience high-quality early learning, much like the opportunity that my family had when my sons were young. We each have a role in making this vision come to life, and NAEYC will continue to engage in deep reflection and conversation about quality with our members, partners, and programs. I look forward to the work ahead as we march toward this goal.