Staff Reports
NEWFANE — Newfane ABCD Rathgaber Center has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.
Newfane ABCD is a migrant Head Start Program, a non-profit provider of high-quality culturally and linguistically diverse child development services for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Staff at Newfane ABCD consists of a multi-ethnic team of professionals from Mexico, Russia, China, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Honduras and the United States. Culturally and linguistically appropriate classrooms provide a secure learning environment where children learn the skills necessary to succeed in school, society and life.
“We’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards,” said center Director Janine Austin. “NAEYC accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible.”
Areas of focus include: language development, literacy, mathematics, science, creative arts, social and emotional development, individualization, physical health and development, problem solving, reasoning and initiative. To earn NAEYC accreditation, Newfane ABCD Rathgaber Center went through an extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related accreditation criteria.
The program received NAEYC accreditation after a site visit by NAEYC assessors to ensure that the program meets each of the 10 program standards. NAEYC accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their five-year accreditation period.
“Newfane ABCD’s NAEYC accreditation is a sign that they are a leader in a national effort to invest in high quality early childhood education, and to help give all children a better start,” said NAEYC Executive Director Mark Ginsberg.
Almost 8,000 programs, serving 1 million young children, are currently accredited by NAEYC.
