Cada Head Start at Halifax Community College, located on its main campus, has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children.
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.
These programs recognize and drive quality-improvement in high-quality early learning environments.
Center Director Latosac Crossen-Brown said this achievement spotlights the staff’s outstanding dedication and commitment for earning this stamp of excellence. “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.”
Brown and her staff serve 42 families in Halifax County.
She said they are committed to their early education profession as they make a positive impact in the Roanoke Valley. “Going through the accreditation process during the pandemic presented many challenges,” Brown said, but through it all, she and her staff supported, inspired and encouraged each other as they worked collaboratively to obtain the goal.
To earn NAEYC Accreditation, Cada Head Start at Halifax Community College went through an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process.
This process was followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC assessors to verify and ensure that the program met 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 five years.
In the 30 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education.
More than 6,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC. Less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.
Cada Head Start at Halifax Community College is the only accredited center in their agency and in Halifax County.
“NAEYC accredited programs have committed to a process that takes time, energy and dedication to complete,” said Alissa Mwenelupembe, senior director of early learning program accreditation. “Cada Head Start at Halifax Community College has demonstrated its commitment to young children and their families.”