NAEYC Accreditation

The National Association for the Education of Young Children

Since 1985, NAEYC has offered a national, voluntary accreditation system to set professional standards for early childhood education programs, and to help families identify high-quality programs. Today, NAEYC Accreditation represents the mark of quality in early childhood education.  Over 8,000 child care programs, preschools, early learning centers, and other center- or school-based early childhood education programs are currently NAEYC-Accredited.  These programs provide high quality care and education to nearly one million young children in the United States, its territories, and programs affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

NAEYC accredited programs invest in early childhood education because they believe in the benefits to children and families.  Early childhood experiences—from birth to age 8—have an enormous impact on children’s lifelong learning and positively contribute to their health and development.  Early childhood education programs with the mark of quality benefit children with greater readiness for and success in school.

It is for this reason that parents and families are seeking out NAEYC-accredited programs.  Parents choosing an early childhood education program can be overwhelmed by trying to find the highest-quality program for their child. NAEYC Accreditation is the mark of quality that families are looking for. NAEYC Accreditation gives families the chance to make the Right Choice for Kids.

Benefits of being an NAEYC Accredited Program:

• Helps to build a stronger team of teachers, administrators, and families working together to improve quality for children.
• Improved standards for the overall program
• Recognition through NAEYC, including program listing on the NAEYC website in the Program Search section
• Announcement of program’s accreditation in the NAEYC Early Learning News weekly newsletter to programs, members, media, and others.
• Use of NAEYC Accredited logo for marketing purposes
• Attracts more families to enroll their children at program