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TWELVE HEAD START CENTERS ACCREDITED
Topics: child care, head start, Community Action, day care, preschool, naeyc, children, kids
Posted by communityactionpartnership Fri Aug 24, 2007 08:59:02 PDT
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Bakersfield, CA August 21, 2007 – Twelve Head Start Centers of the Child and Education Services (CEDS) division of Community Action Partnership of Kern have earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) – the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.

 

“In 2006 six of our fifty-four centers were accredited. Now we are proud to add 12 more to be the largest agency in Kern County with this accreditation, and be recognized for our staff’s commitment to reach the highest professional standards,” said Debra Welch, Director of the Child and Education Development Services division of the Partnership.“ NAEYC accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best in care and early learning experiences. While these 18 centers are an excellent representation of all of our child development centers, we will be continuing this process in all fifty-four centers. In addition to the high standards of state licensing we want parents to know their children are receiving the optimum care and education that is available.”

All of our centers are required to meet Head Start standards, which are similar to NAEYC standards. Having the "NAEYC accredidation is like having the Good Housekeeping stamp of approval," said Jerry Meade, assistant to the director of the Child Education and Development Services division. NAEYC gives centers a marketable reputation as their representatives can stop the centers at any time to be reviewed.

Mead explained the difference between a center being accredited or not being accredited, "The main reason one third of our centers are accredited does not indicate that the other two thirds have any less quality or credibility. It's the cost of accredidation that keeps us from going the the process for all 54 sites," Mead said. The cost, on average, is $3000 per center, depending on the size of the center and the process takes at least one full year. The process includes family surveys (which can be as few as 20 children and as many as hundreds for larger centers), surveys may need to be in both languages, etc. Then there's the application fee, the cost of NAEYC's materials, the candidacy application fee, a self assessment process and fee, an annual report fee, and the expenses of a visit from accrediter/reviewer, which can be very costly, depending on how long they need to stay with us in order to review the site. "If it wasn't a matter of the costs, we would have all of the centers accredited," Meade added.

"Head Start is a top notch program with top notch centers," said Christine Lollar, spokewoman for the Partnership,, "in the very near future we will be able to announce that ALL of our centers are accredited. That's what we're working towards." Lollar stated that their three-year plan calls for all sites, currently serving approximately 4,000 children and their families, to be accredited. "We want families to know just how much we care about the children we serve and the quality of everything involved in that care, and that we'll go to great lengths to reassure them of that," Lollar said.

 

Centers receiving accreditation are the Head Start centers at Alicante Head Start in Lamont; Head Start Centers in Buttonwillow, California City, Rosamond, Shafter, and Wasco; and in Bakersfield Noble, Pauly, Pioneer, Planz, Seibert, Virginia Avenue Head Starts.

 

The Partnership’s CEDS division serves over 4,000 Kern County children and is the largest early child education organization in the county. CEDS administers the federal Head Start, state migrant, general childcare, and home-based programs; providing comprehensive child education and development services for income eligible children 0 to 5 years of age, and their families.

 

“By earning accreditation, Community Action Partnership of Kern’s Child Education and Development Services division has become a leader in a national effort to raise the quality of early childhood education, and to help give all children a better start,” said Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director of NAEYC. More than 11,000 early childhood programs – serving over one million young children – are currently accredited by NAEYC. NAEYC created its accreditation program in 1985 to set professional standards for early childhood education, and to help families identify high-quality childcare and early education programs. To earn NAEYC’s five-year accreditation a program conducts a self-study and makes any necessary improvements, is observed by independent, professional validators and finally is reviewed by a national panel.

 

“This accreditation is a true testament to the hard work and commitment of all who have direct and support activity for our children and families; and to the leadership in the CEDS division,” said Executive Director of the Partnership, Fred A. Drew.

 

For more information, or to enroll a child in the Head Start program in Kern County, call 661-336-5236 or email headstart@capk.org. For enrollment information, call 800-701-7060.

 

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