College’s Childhood Program Accredited

The Moorpark College Child Development Center has received accreditation from the National Assn. for the Education of Young Children for the center’s excellence in educating youngsters.

With the recent designation, Moorpark College joins an elite group of just 5% of all childhood education programs nationwide.

To gain accreditation, the program had to undergo a rigorous program to demonstrate it had met the organization’s standards.

“The heart of NAEYC accreditation focuses on the child’s experience,” program coordinator Linda Cravens said. “The process carefully considers all aspects of the program. . . . But the greatest emphasis is on the child’s relationships with the staff and how the program helps each child to grow and learn intellectually, physically and emotionally.”

Moorpark had to complete an intensive self-evaluation.

Association observers visited the center to validate the evaluations. Subsequently, an independent team of national experts decided to offer the program accreditation.

The national association’s accreditation program began in 1985 in response to a growing number of children spending time in day care and the sometimes inadequate consumer protection afforded by state licensing.

Moorpark College’s Child Development Center has undergone a $120,000 expansion to accommodate the 80 children it expects to have full time beginning in the fall. More than 100 children, however, can be accommodated on a part-time basis.

Established in the early 1980s to provide care to the children of students, the center is modeled after a laboratory school, emphasizing hands-on learning instruction for children 3 to 5 years of age.

For information on the center and its programs, call 378-1401.