EAU CLAIRE -- The Children's Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was recently granted accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

This recognition has been achieved by about only 5 percent of early childhood programs nationwide -- some 4,600 programs as of March 1996.

"We are pleased to hear that we have again received the accreditation, which is a rigorous and voluntary process by which early childhood programs demonstrate that they consistently meet national standards of excellence," said Jane Linton, director of UW-Eau Claire's Children's Center.

The Children's Center provides child care for children of UW-Eau Claire students, faculty and staff, as well as for children of community members.

Child care centers, preschools, kindergartens, and before- and after-school programs are eligible to seek NAEYC accreditation. Approximately 8,000 programs are engaged in seeking accreditation.

Programs seeking accreditation undergo an intensive self-study, collecting information from parents, teachers, administrators and classroom observations. They receive an on-site visit, conducted by early childhood professionals specially trained by NAEYC to validate the self-study results. The information is then reviewed by a team of national experts who grant or defer accreditation. Accreditation lasts for three years.

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JB

Updated: June 23, 1997