Aug 02, 2024 Early Childhood Studies program receives prestigious national accreditation

Aug. 2, 2024 - CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)'s Early Childhood Studies (ECS) Bachelor of Arts (BA) program is now one of approximately 20 percent of early childhood education degree programs nationally to be accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

This NAEYC accreditation means the CSUCI program, which is part of the School of Education, has met several rigorous standards set by the NAEYC, including elements like cultural sensitivity, knowledge about developmentally appropriate lessons based on a child's age, and community and family connection. Emphasis was also placed on young dual language learners and children with special needs.

"Having accreditation gives us the ability to say that the students who graduate from our program are going to be high quality teachers," said Professor and Chair of ECS Mari Riojas-Cortez. "What makes them high quality teachers will be their degrees, but also the knowledge of child development, diverse family and community partnerships and their ability to approach teaching by valuing the children's language and culture."

CSUCI Dean of the School of Education Elizabeth Orozco Reilly credits Riojas-Cortez with the heavy lifting involved with earning this accreditation, which is a solid gold standard on the resume of any ECS graduate seeking a job in early childhood education.

"It means we are committed to the social and emotional growth of our students and academic achievement," Orozco Reilly said. "This is independent verification that individuals preparing to be teachers or leaders for any childcare program are well prepared when they graduate from CSUCI."

In order to qualify for the accreditation, Riojas-Cortez supervised a program-wide two-year self-study in which the ECS faculty assessed how well the program measured up to all the NAEYC standards, strengthening the program where necessary, and highlighting what was going well.

One area of strength is CSUCI's connections with the community, Riojas-Cortez said. ECS students are sent out into the field logging in over 450 hours of on the job learning in early childhood centers by the time they graduate.

CSUCI offers numerous other events and opportunities to involve the larger community and families in a young child's education. One good example was the Early Childhood Literacy program held on campus for the past two years. Families and their children gathered in CSUCI's North Quad on April 20, the Día del Niño/Children's Day for a read aloud of "The Runaway Piggy" by author James Luna.

"In early childhood, if you don't partner up with the families, then there is something missing," Riojas-Cortez said. "We need to involve families all the way through elementary school, high school and sometimes through college. We need to understand and benefit from the cultural wealth that families have."

The NAEYC accreditation is good for seven years, after which time it will need to be renewed.

Students wishing to enroll in CSUCI's ECS program will recognize the value of the accreditation and have confidence that when they graduate and enter the world of education, they will be prepared.

"When you can put the NAEYC certification on your web site," Orozco-Reilly said, "you've gotten to Valhalla."

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