AC’s Hagy Center, Child Development Lab School earn NAEYC accreditation

Amarillo College’s Child Development Lab School has done it again – received reaccreditation from the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children – and this time AC’s Hagy Center for Young Children has become a member of that exclusive club, too.

After a rigorous and thorough process, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has granted its prestigious accreditation to both of the College’s early childhood-serving entities. NAEYC accreditation is achieved by less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools, and kindergartens in the nation.

“We’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to teaching the highest professional standards,” Patricia Keith, AC’s director of childcare, said. “This is the highest standard in the world, and I’m proud of our dedicated staff who work so hard to make our facilities the best that they can be.”

AC’s longstanding Child Development Lab School on the West Campus received its first NAEYC accreditation in 2009, and this marks its third successful reaccreditation since then. For AC’s Hagy Center, which opened in the Amarillo hospital district in 2017, this marks its initial NAEYC accreditation.

NAEYC Accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality-improvement in high-quality early learning environments.

Both AC childcare facilities serve a diverse community with a model of excellence for the early care and education of children. Intentional practices enrich the whole child with appropriate activities, choices and support of individual needs. Guided by the interests of each child, each family becomes a partner with the centers to provide the best foundation in these important early years.

“As teachers, students, children and families, we learn and grow together,” Keith said.

To earn NAEYC accreditation, the Child Development Lab School and the Hagy Center for Young Children underwent extensive self-studies and quality-improvement processes, followed by on-site visits by NAEYC assessors to verify and ensure that the programs meet each of the 10 program standards, and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.

In the 30 years since NAEYC Accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education.

“NAEYC-accredited programs have committed to a process that takes time, energy and dedication to complete” said Alissa Mwenelupembe, NAEYC’s senior director of early learning program accreditation. “The Amarillo College early learning centers have clearly demonstrated their commitment to young children and their families.”