September 2, 2005
Center for Early Learning Receives National Accreditation from NAEYC; Facility’s
Head Start Program Becomes First in South Texas to Receive Recognition
WHO: Del Mar College President Dr. Carlos Garcia; Linda Ard, chair of
the Department of Human Services; Dr. Lee Sloan, Dean of the Division of Occupational
Education and Technology; DMC Board of Regents members; Harry Marks and other
representatives from the Morris L. Lichtenstein, Jr. Foundation; and staff and
children at the Center for Early Learning
WHAT: Announcement of National Accreditation for the Morris L. Lichtenstein,
Jr. Center for Early Learning, including recognition of Center staff and children
creating “Thank You” cards
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. (sharp), Tuesday, Sept. 6 (The event will start with
participants visiting classrooms before making comments.)
WHERE: Morris L. Lichtenstein, Jr. Center for Early Learning, corner
of Kosar and Naples off Staples, East Campus (campus map available at www.delmar.edu/maps/east.html)
Media can park in the circular drive in front of the Center.
VISUALS: DMC President Dr. Carlos Garcia, Board of Regents members and
other representatives visiting each classroom to present special ribbons from
the National Association for the Education of Young Children to Center staff,
along with other items from the College, to recognize their hard work toward
achieving national accreditation on their first attempt.
Children making oversized “Thank You” cards to send to NAEYC and College
representatives for the Center’s achievement of national accreditation.
FYI: The process is extremely complex. Literally, hundreds of criteria
are assessed. Recently, Del Mar College’s Department of Human Services
and the Morris L. Lichtenstein, Jr. Center for Early Learning received notice
of national accreditation from the National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC). The Center received the accreditation on their first
attempt.
“Getting accredited after the first visit is a real accomplishment,”
says Linda Ard, chair of the Department of Humans Services, which includes the
College’s Early Childhood/Childhood Development Program. She says that
out of the 500 centers and homes that provide child care, the Center is the
sixth in Corpus Christi to receive national accreditation and the eighth in
the College’s service area. “Additionally, the facility’s Head
Start program is the first in South Texas to receive such recognition,”
she says.
NAEYC is the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.
The organization created its accreditation program in 1985 to set professional
standards for early childhood education and to help families identify high-quality
child care and early education programs. To earn NAEYC’s accreditation,
a program conducts a self-study to determine how well it meets the standards.
After the program completes self-evaluation, independent professional validators
visit and observe the program and then a national panel reviews the observations.
Once awarded, programs receive NAEYC accreditation for a five-year period. The
Center for Early Learning’s accreditation runs through July 2010.
“Becoming accredited by NAEYC has been our goal since the Board of Regents
approved the original concept of the Center in July 1998,” notes Ard. “A
program must be operational for a year before it can even begin the self-study
process, which usually takes 12 to 18 months. Our own extensive evaluation of
the Center included both parents and staff.” She notes that the observational
team visited the Center this June.
The Center for Early Learning received a grant to pay part of the accreditation
fees from Success by 6, a program of the United Way of the Coastal Bend.
Del Mar College’s Early Childhood/Child Development Program began in 1976.
At that time, faculty with the Department of Human Services identified the need
not only for a childcare facility for students but also a place of learning
for children registered at such a facility to give them a better educational
start.
The College broke ground for the Morris L. Lichtenstein, Jr. Center for Early
Learning in October 2001 after receiving several major donations, including
a $1 million gift from the Morris L. Lichtenstein, Jr. Foundation in June 2000.
In September 2002, the $4.7 million facility opened to serve 119 children whose
parents attended or worked at the College. Since then, the Center has served
483 families from the campus and area community who have registered one or more
children at the facility.
“Our mission is to serve as a model program to train early childhood professionals
and as a catalyst for quality care and education,” says Ard. The Center
serves as the primary education laboratory for Del Mar students earning degrees
and certificates in early childhood and child development.
“Since opening its doors, the Center has assisted over 300 parents of children
enrolled at the facility to stay in school, take more classes, earn better grades
and graduate faster,” adds Ard. “During the first two years of operation,
the retention rate for student parents was 97 to 100 percent compared to the
average for all Del Mar students ranging from 60 to 65 percent overall.”
Ard notes that the Center for Early Learning and Department of Human Services
faculty have worked hand-in-hand with other community partners to support the
accrediting process. “Several of the Early Childhood/ Child Development
faculty have been involved with NAEYC accreditation efforts for many years,”
she says. “It’s gratifying to see all of their efforts pay off for
Del Mar College and the children of the Coastal Bend.”
For more information about the National Association for the Education of Young
Children, go to naeyc.org.
CONTACT: Linda Ard, chair of the DMC Department of Human Services, at 361/698-1316
-DMC-mce