PULLMAN —WSU’s Children’s Center has again achieved accreditation from The National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs (NAC).
The WSU Children’s Center reapplies for this accreditation every three years and provides NAC extensive information about its supervision of children, staff training efforts, classroom curricula, health practices and staff/child ratios during the application process.
In the award notification letter, Janice Esau, director of Accreditation for NAC, praised the Children’s Center for its excellence in child care. “This award acknowledges an early childhood program exemplifying high standards in the care and education of young children,” she said.
“All of the staff at our Children’s Center devoted considerable efforts to achieve accreditation from NAC, said Mary Ellen Radziemski, Children’s Center director. “We are proud to have received it and we believe NAC accreditation is an indicator of a quality, excellent early childhood program for young children.”
Radziemski said two areas where the Children’s Center did exceedingly well in meeting NAC standards include health and safety practices as well as interactions between staff and children. “The full time teaching staff and the part time student staff’s interactions with children are characterized by building both trust and respect with the children,” she said. “We care about children and the families we serve.”
Melynda Huskey, assistant vice president for The Division of Student Affairs, Equity and Diversity, said the Children’s Center staff is exceptionally educated and dedicated to serving the community. “The benefit of accreditation is that it helps us stay focused and it is an external way to make sure that we’re living up to the high standards that we set for ourselves,” she said.
The Children’s Center currently cares for 18 infants, 28 toddlers, and just over 100 children ranging from young preschoolers up to school-aged kids. Its staff includes 16 full-time teachers and about 90 part-time student workers.
The Children’s Center, located on Olympia Avenue, will soon undergo expansion adding a couple of classrooms to help accommodate the demand in the community for infant and toddler child care. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring with the goal of having the new space ready for use in January 2010.
