National Association For The Education Of Young Children

Programs: Accreditation - as an accreditation system, naeyc is committed to continuous quality improvement and the use of feedback from stakeholders to enhance the practice. Throughout fiscal year 2017, wecompiled data from program records, early childhood educators, program administrators, coaches, assessors, state administrators, and other stakeholders to identify and prioritize enhancements that build on its 30-year experience and streamline the accreditation process. Further, this year marked the 10th anniversary of naeyc's early childhood associate degree accreditation system - a system that has grown to 177 accredited associate degree programs and is positioned for strong growth in the coming year. As part of a grant from the w. K. Kellogg foundation, 25 early childhood degree programs received scholarships this year to support their efforts to seek accreditation through naeyc's early childhood associate degree accreditation system. Almost half of these scholarships are supporting programs at the baccalaureate and master's degree levels that are participating in the accreditation system's expansion pilot.

membership - in 2017 naeyc restructured its membership categories in order to better reflect and serve the diverse makeup of its members. A digital only, entry level membership level was added, better suited to students and professionals just entering the field. Regular and comprehensive levels became standard and premium, providing more content and for the first time a professional development component. Naeyc created a family level membership to engage families and the general public in taking a larger role in the early education community. Naeyc also launched a new affiliate structure, making it possible to offer a local and national benefits at one standard price for everyone.

conferences and events - naeyc's annual events are integral to the impact it has on the early childhood profession. In fiscal year 2017, we hosted successful meetings in san francisco, los angeles, and washington, d. C. Naeyc's annual conference (november) drew nearly 9,000 early learning professionals to los angeles, california, as they gathered to celebrate "early ed for president. " the conference featured over 500 sessions covering topics such as professional development and preparation systems, stem, wages and compensation, and language and literacy. The 2016 conference also saw the expansion of the grandes comienzos dual-language learning track. Naeyc's public policy forum took place in late february convening for three days of informative sessions with early childhood policy experts. Finally, the professional development institute was held in june. More than 2,000 higher education faculty, trainers, researchers, and advocates gathered in san francisco, california.

other program services are: office of the executive director, affiliates, contracts and consulting, professional development, publications and journal, public advocacy/public information, program support services.