Farmingdale Head Start was recently granted accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Head Start, serving 3- and 4-year-old children, works with youngsters from disadvantaged families who reside within the Farmingdale school district.

This prestigious recognition has been achieved by approximately seven percent of early childhood programs nationwide, and some 15,000 programs are engaged in seeking NAEYC accreditation.

To receive the accreditation, early childhood programs must demonstrate that they meet national standards of excellence. Child care centers, preschools, kindergarten and before and after school programs are all eligible to seek NAEYC accreditation.

Programs seeking accreditation, as Head Start did last year, undergo an intensive self-study, collecting information from parents, teachers, administrators, and classroom observations. NAEYC provides programs with packets of questionnaires for those involved with the program to complete. According to Head Start Supervisor Evelyn Laky, this portion of the evaluation really allows members of the staff to determine if they are doing what they want to be doing. "It really makes you think," she said, "it's a self-examination which enables you to discover if you are doing everything you can for these children."

After filling out all the material, programs receive an on-site visit, conducted by an early childhood professional especially trained by NAEYC, to validate their self-study results. All of this information is independently reviewed by a team of national experts who grant or defer accreditation.

Laky explained that if an on-site visitor didn't think that the program met national standards then a counselor would come in and help members learn what they could do better to serve children in their care. Laky said that NAEYC is so extensive in their research and that they observe the whole picture, including how the children and staff members interact and health conditions of the facility.

"The heart of NAEYC accreditation focuses on the child's experience," said Barbara Willer, spokesperson for NAEYC. "The process carefully considers all aspects of a program including health and safety, staffing, staff qualifications and physical environment. The greatest emphasis is on the children's relationships with the staff and how the program helps each child grow and learn intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally."

According to Willer, research supports the value of a program's accreditation in a child's experience in the program. Children's language and social skills especially benefit from the better quality found in NAEYC accredited programs. "These are critical areas for children's success in school as well as in life," said Willer.

Once accreditation is granted, a program must reapply for this status after three years. This is done to ensure that the program continues to meet national standards. "They are especially concerned with how the staff works with the children," Laky said of NAEYC, "and sometimes they come sooner if there's a large change in staff." Laky went on to explain that NAEYC very closely studies how staff members work with children, and if there is a large turnover of employees in the facility, they often come back to observe them prior to the three year period.

Head Start, which has operated within the Farmingdale School District for over 30 years, serves nearly 40 children a year, ages 3 to 5 at the Farmingdale High School. Throughout their history, they have served more than 1,200 children and their families. The federal funding which supports this program is obtained through a grant from the Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County.

According to Laky, she is very proud to have her high quality preschool program recognized in this way. " [NAEYC] does such a thorough job, they are a team of real professionals," Laky said. "It is very prestigious to have this accreditation."