Child Care Center Earns National NAEYC Accreditation

The Child Care Center at Buffalo State has earned accreditation from the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children.

NAEYC uses a set of 10 research-based, early learning program standards that participating institutions must maintain to stay accredited. NAEYC also collaborates with accredited programs to recognize and drive quality improvement in early learning environments.

“We are proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards in early childhood education,” said Monique Bluford, interim executive director of the Child Care Center.

In the 30 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become widely recognized as a sign of a high-quality early childhood education. More than 7,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC—yet less than 10 percent of all child care centers, preschools, and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.

To earn NAEYC accreditation, Buffalo State went through an extensive self-study and quality improvement process. An onsite visit by a NAEYC assessor ensured that the program demonstrated compliance with NAEYC’s standards and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. The NAEYC's accreditation assessment commended Buffalo State's program for its outstanding efforts and noted that the Child Care Center met or exceeded all points on the organization's standards evaluation.

NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years. Buffalo State's NAEYC Accreditation is now valid until September 1, 2022.