News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Joe Polinski
(803) 981-7161

York Tech Early Childhood Program Receives Prestigious Accreditation

October 9, 2007

ROCK HILL—The Division of Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recently awarded accreditation to York Technical College's Early Care and Education Associate Degree Program. Only 34 associate degree programs nationwide have been recognized with the prestigious accreditation.

“This accreditation system provides the national standards by which early childhood associate degree programs can be uniformly measured,” said Alison Lutton, director of the Early Childhood Associate Degree Program at NAEYC. “By earning this distinctive and rigorous mark of quality for its students and faculty, these colleges have elevated the profession and the quality of education in their communities.”

Professional early childhood education teachers are among the fastest growing occupational needs in the United States. The association’s Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation system recognizes degree programs at colleges which meet the highest standards for teacher preparation. National accreditation establishes shared professional standards to assess quality of early childhood teacher education programs.

Both public and private early care and education programs, including Head Start, are increasingly calling for its teachers to have at least an associate’s degree or higher. Elevated professional standards for educators in the early childhood field will have a direct effect on the quality by which early learning programs will be evaluated.

"The accreditation status validates the quality of our associate degree program and that the instruction delivered to our students is aligned with the NAEYC standards for excellence," said Linda Weaver-Griggs, York Tech's associate dean for public service. "After completing our associate degree coursework and fulfilling laboratory components of various courses at our campus-based Child Development Center—also accredited by the NAEYC—our graduates possess the essential skills and abilities to provide outstanding care to children and service to their families. Our graduates enter the field of early care and education as professionals, fully equipped to meet the needs of the children and their families in our community."

“Teacher quality is a crucial component in providing high-quality early childhood education to millions of children across the country,” said Jerlean Daniel, Ph. D., associate executive director of NAEYC. “Establishing high standards for associate degree programs is an important step towards raising the quality of all teacher preparation programs.”

For more information about the NAEYC Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation system, visit www.naeyc.org/faculty/asdeg.asp. For more information about Early Childhood Development programs at York Technical College, contact Weaver-Griggs at (803) 981-7026.

York Technical College . 452 S. Anderson Road . Rock Hill, SC 29730