Pierce Child Center Wins Accreditation

The Child Development Center at Pierce College was recently accredited by a national professional organization known for quality early education curriculum guidelines and standards.

The center is the first in the Los Angeles Community College District to receive accreditation from the National Assn. for the Education of Young Children, said center director Kathleen Reiter.

“This is really an acknowledgment of programs that are doing quality work in the field,” Reiter said. “It’s an honor, but it’s also a validation of the work we’ve done. It’s a stamp of approval of the program we’re offering.”

Center administrators decided last year to try for accreditation in lieu of its annual Exemplary Program Standards self-evaluation for the state, which it must conduct as a nonprofit organization under contract with a public institution.

“It’s a little more work than would have been done with the EPS,” she said, “but we felt it was worth it. It was important enough.”

The Washington, D.C.-based organization’s reputation and its respect in the field convinced center administrators to try for accreditation.

When considering a school for a three-year accreditation, the association considers the environment, the curriculum, teacher qualifications, parent involvement and interaction between the staff and children, Reiter said.

The child development center--established in 1975 with two teachers and 30 children--currently has 74 children enrolled, with about 60 children on site in any given hour, and five full-time teachers.