NAEYC Accreditation: Good for Communities
Collaborations for quality – Corporate support of early childhood accreditation
NAEYC-accredited programs represent a good investment in early childhood education.
There are a number of successful strategies that businesses, community organizations, and foundations have used to help to improve quality in programs and schools by supporting early childhood accreditation. Some have assisted NAEYC in assuring the supply of community-based mentors and validators by supporting the Academy’s training efforts. Others–individually or as a part of a community partnership–have chosen to support programs seeking accreditation by providing direct or in-kind funding to help them meet the full costs of providing a high-quality program and/or by meeting the costs incurred while seeking accreditation.
Individual programs vary greatly in the areas and degree of improvement needed to achieve high quality. Accreditation experience suggests a number of areas where corporate support can be most useful: