Freshly remodeled and recently reaccredited by the foremost authority in the land, the Child Development Lab School at Amarillo College is gearing up to commemorate the Week of the Young Child like never before—with an Open House and a Panel Discussion on Friday, April 10.

The Week of the Young Child actually is April 12-18, but AC will get a two-day jump on it because it has so much to celebrate.

The Lab School is located on AC’s West Campus, 6222 W. 9th Ave., where festivities begin at 10 a.m. with a ceremonial welcome in which even the children in its care will play an active role. Tours of the refurbished facility will follow until 11 a.m., when an hour-long Panel Discussion featuring early childhood professionals will commence in nearby Building B, Room 106.

But nothing trumps the Lab School’s recent reaccreditation until 2020 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), widely acknowledged as the foremost authority in the world on quality programs for young children.

AC’s Lab School is one of only two programs in the top 26 counties of the Panhandle with NAEYC’s prestigious accreditation.

“We are extremely proud of Lab School Director Chelsea Munkres and her staff of early childhood teachers who worked very hard to achieve this goal,” Department Chair Mary Clare Munger said. “NAEYC is the highest standard in the world. All our military bases throughout the world use this system, as do states when they judge agency efforts in state initiatives for young children.

“This is a very important achievement, one which is not easily accomplished.”

The annual Week of the Young Child is sponsored by NAEYC and focuses public attention on the needs of young children and their families.

The AC Lab School is designed to meet the educational developmental needs of young children 3 months to 5 years of age. In doing so, it serves as a primary education tool for AC Education Department students and community members on child-development educational paths, primarily through observation hours.

The public is invited—and anyone planning to celebrate the Week of the Young Child is encouraged—to take part in the Lab School festivities on Friday, April 10. For more information, you can contact the Lab School at 806-356-3636.

March 26, 2015