ESC's early learning program earns national accreditation

By Aaron Reincheld
ESC Communications

The ESC of Central Ohio’s early learning program is all grown up.

Completing a two-year application process, the ESC earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children for all 19 early learning classrooms that were reviewed.

NAEYC accreditation is the top credential sought by public school or private provider preschool programs, said Lynn Brannon, director of the Center for Student Services.

“This is a significant distinction that validates our early childhood approach,” Brannon said. “It’s a way to show we’re providing quality instruction in a quality environment.

“It’s not subjective,” she added. “NAEYC accreditation is a standardized way to assure our families and partners that we meet a certain level of competence.”

Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Rhonda Dickson agreed that such external evaluations are always good experiences.

“As difficult as they can be at times, it’s important to go through a review like this to give us a benchmark for our program. This review highlighted our strengths and areas to improve upon so that we can continue to improve outcomes for children,” Dickson said.

	Click to enlarge         After two years, the ESC's early learning program earned accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Special Education Coordinators Dawn Brewer and Jenny Dennis led the process for the ESC, which required significant help from teachers and assistants.

Over the course of the two years, each ESC early learning classroom completed an “overwhelming” amount of work, Dennis said. This included multiple surveys to parents and a thorough self-assessment against NAEYC’s 10 standards that required assembling a detailed binder of information documenting classroom practices according to each standard and substandard.

The ESC also had to assemble similar information on the program level, producing three thick binders of evidence.

In late January, an NAEYC assessor came out and spent a full day at each site, about half of which consisted of multiple classrooms. The assessor observed instruction, inspected for safety, and closely examined random portions of each binder.

The process was very stressful, Dennis said, but ultimately rewarding.

“The NAEYC torch is so well known, there are families that will search for accredited classrooms before enrolling their child,” Dennis said.

Brewer agreed.

“It’s certainly an accomplishment,” Brewer said.

Going through the application process and gaining accreditation created opportunities to make minor adjustments to the early learning program, and also altered the instructional process of some participating teachers, Brannon said.

“It provided us with multiple opportunities to stop and reflect on our practices,” she said. “For example, we have been working on parent engagement, but this forced us to focus on it even more.”

Maintaining accreditation will drive professional development for early learning staff and future hiring decisions.

But already, Brannon sees the NAEYC process as a win-win for the ESC and all early learning staff.

“When you’ve gone through this process, no one can throw anything at you that you can’t figure out how to address,” Brannon said.