L’Anse Creuse Child Care Maintains Highest Accreditation

The L’Anse Creuse Child Care Center is one of the first early childhood programs to earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals, based on its revised program standards set forth in September 2006.
 
“We’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards, said Sharon Grala, director. Our Center has tried to meet the needs of the L'Anse Creuse community by providing a variety of programs. 

The Child Care Center offers a year-round childcare program that provides quality child care for children of working parents that need year-round care, a School Readiness Preschool Program that runs from September through May that provides free preschool for 4 year olds whose family meets the criteria set by the state of Michigan, a tuition-based preschool for 3 and 4 year olds, and a Before and Aftercare Program that is for children that need care after their day in preschool.

“What is so special about our program at L'Anse Creuse is that state-funded and tuition-based students are in the same classroom, said Grala.  “As far as I know, we are the only program in our area that does that, and I think having the children together helps make our program wonderful! 

To earn NAEYC Accreditation in the new system, the L’Anse Creuse Child Care Center completed an extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against the 10 new NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related Accreditation Criteria.  The program received NAEYC Accreditation after an on-site visit by NAEYC Assessors to ensure that the program meets each of the 10 NAEYC program standards.  NAEYC-accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their accreditation, which lasts for five years.

“Sharon Grala and the team at the Child Care Center have worked very hard to make this happen, said Pam Stotz, director for early childhood.  NAEYC accreditation signals programs that provide programs of very high quality.