An open house, held Friday, Aug. 11 at the Child Development Center (CDC) on the Clear Lake Campus, served to acquaint the public with the site”s year-round child care services.
The purpose of the open house, according to site supervisor Jeanette Johns, was to show that the CDC is available to members of the public. “Most people think we”re open only to students,” Johns said.
The CDC recently earned five-year accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children; according to Yuba Community College, it is the first site in Lake County to qualify through the NAEYC program.
In order to earn accreditation, the CDC had to complete a very detailed and elaborate review of its procedures and processes. “We are very happy with this positive news,” said Program Director Laurie Scheuermann. “This accreditation is a verification that the center provides a high quality program for young children and their families, and it is an obvious source of pride for the Child Development Center staff.”
The NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation administers a national, voluntary accreditation system to help raise the quality of all types of preschools, kindergartens and child care centers. Currently there are only 10,000 accredited NAEYC programs in the nation.
Information on the NAEYC”s Web site, www.naeyc.org/, indicated that there are many requirements toward attaining accreditation, including the willingness to meet 10 standards of high-quality early childhood education. These standards are summarized by NAEYC in what it calls its “Quality Checklist:”
1. Promote positive relationships for all children and adults;
2. Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development ? cognitive, emotional, language, physical and social;
3. Use developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate and effective teaching approaches;
4. Provide ongoing assessments of child progress;
5. Promote the nutrition and health of children and staff;
6. Employ and support qualified teaching staff;
7. Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with families;
8. Establish and maintain relationships and use resources of the community;
9. Provide a safe and healthy physical environment; and
10. Implement strong program management policies that result in high-quality service.
“Choosing the right child care program or preschool can seem overwhelming,” said Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director of NAEYC. “NAEYC wants to help families feel good about the choices they make. The Quality Checklist is a helpful tool for parents as they begin their search.”
Wednesday”s open house served as an introduction to the application process, with enrollment packets made available upon request. Instructor Rosa Gaona led the children with structured activities following a period of free play.
Johns said the CDC is licensed by the State of California to serve 30 children, ages 3 to 5. “We usually have 30 children for most of the year,” Johns said, adding that enrollment drops off during the summer. “We lose half of our enrollment to kindergarten,” she said.
Spaces in the program are filled on a first come, first served basis and free or reduced-fee services are available for those who qualify. Johns advised that the application process takes about 2.5 hours to complete and that parents should be prepared to stay for that period of time.
For more information about enrollment, please call the CDC at 995-7909. The Clear Lake Campus CDC is located at 15580 Dam Road Extension.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
