USC Aiken Children's Center Celebrates Milestone Anniversary

Aiken, SC (05/05/2020) — For more than 20 years, the University of South Carolina Aiken has been a recognized leader in excellence among childcare providers, maintaining accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children since the USC Aiken Children's Center first opened in 1990.

The association says this is "no small feat."

This month, the center just learned that NAEYC reaccredited its programs for another five years, marking two decades of excellence.

"This accreditation means that we strive daily to meet a gold standard of education, and the renewal is an acknowledgement of our efforts," said Lynn Williams, director of the USC Aiken Children's Center.

"The NAEYC approval sets us apart from other centers in the area, in that we are held to stricter standards. The accreditation supports and guides us to provide quality care which ensure an equitable outcome for all children."

Accredited programs, like the one at USC Aiken, have met NAEYC's 10 standards for high-quality early childhood education, according to the association's website.

"These programs have demonstrated that they provide a safe and healthy environment for children, have teachers who are well-trained, have access to excellent teaching materials, and work with a curriculum that is appropriately challenging and developmentally sound," as stated on the website.

"NAEYC accreditation helps parents find the best possible early childhood experience for their children."

The website outlines the general criteria centers must meet to earn and maintain NAEYC accreditation, including:

• Promote positive relationships for all children and adults to encourage each child's sense of individual worth.
• Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development: cognitive, emotional, language, physical, and social.
• Use developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate and effective teaching approaches.
• Provide ongoing assessments of each child's learning and development and communicate the child's progress to the family.
• Promote the nutrition and health of children and protect children and staff from illness and injury.
• Employ and support a teaching staff that has the educational qualifications, knowledge, and professional commitment necessary to promote children's learning and development and to support families' diverse interests and needs.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with each child's family.
• Establish relationships with and use the resources of the community to support achievement of program goals.
• Provide a safe and healthy physical environment.
• Implement strong personnel, fiscal, and program management policies so that all children, families, and staff have high-quality experiences.

Meeting the standards and expectations of the premier accrediting body for childcare facilities is part of the mission, but Williams says providing educational, social, and developmental experiences in a safe, compassionate environment daily for the area's youngest students is most important.

"Our parents are assured lower ratios, which help us individualize learning objectives for each child as well as provide more one-on-one time," she said.

"Our children are nurtured in an environment that values quality not quantity. The children are able to grow and learn in an environment with trained teachers who have the support and training of NAEYC."

Williams has led the charge at the center for the last 12 years. She says the experienced, trained and child-centered faculty are "passionate about the role of early learning." In addition to the full-time faculty and staff who teach and care for the young students, the Children's Center also enrolls education majors from across campus in their efforts.

"One of the most important parts of our team are the USC Aiken students who work for us," Williams said.

"They provide the enthusiasm and most up-to-date techniques in the field of education. The students are a unique asset to our center. We also have the resources and support provided [all over campus] by USC Aiken."

The USC Aiken Children's Center is a year-round, full-day child development center licensed National Association for the Education of Young Children by the state of South Carolina to serve up to 40 children ages six weeks to five years.

"We have the honor and awesome responsibility of having these children's earliest education entrusted to us," Williams said.

"We take it seriously, and we will continue to strive to provide the best care possible."

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