NAS Pensacola Corry Station Child Development Center Receives National Accreditation

   The accreditation – a lengthy process involving the enrollment, self-study, assessment and eventual unannounced site visit by an NAEYC accreditation team – serves to reinforce the Corry Station CDC’s opportunities for children to socialize and learn in an appropriate environment, according to Linda Delaney, the NAS Pensacola Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Child and Youth Programs (CYP) and Corry Station CDC Director.
   “When families are looking for quality care for their children the staff is proud to let them know that we are accredited through NAEYC,” Delaney said. “NAEYC is widely recognized as a sign of high-quality early childhood education, and less than ten percent of all childcare centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition. Our staff feel deep pleasure and satisfaction in reaching that achievement.”
   Delaney added that the Corry Station CDC has been working toward NAEYC accreditation for the last year, noting that the value placed on the accreditation is significant in the early education community.
   “We want to ensure that each and every child, family and staff has a high-quality experience with the Corry Station CDC,” Delaney said. “Knowing that their children are in a developmentally sound environment can help the hundreds of service members here concentrate on their mission, and we’re proud to contribute to that.”
   According to the NAEYC, accredited programs have met the organization’s ten standards for high-quality early childhood education, as well as demonstrate the capability of providing a safe and healthy environment for children, have teachers who are well-trained, have access to excellent teaching materials and working with an appropriately challenging and developmentally sound curriculum.
   “It was no small feat to become accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC),” Delaney said. “Our team truly care about our children and feel honored that an organization such as NAEYC recognized the hard work that our devoted trainers and staff do every day to raise the quality of care that we provide.”
   NAEYC standards include:
     - Promote positive relationships to encourage each child’s sense of individual worth.
     - Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development
     - Use developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate/effective teaching approaches
     - Provide ongoing assessments of each child’s learning and development
     - Promote the nutrition and health of children and protect them from illness and injury
     - Employ and support a qualified, knowledgeable and professional teaching staff
     - Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with each child’s family
     - Establish relationships with and use community resources to support program goals
     - Provide a safe and healthy physical environment
     - Implement strong personnel, fiscal and program management policies
   The Corry Station CDC is part of the NAS Pensacola MWR Child and Youth Programs.
   For more than one hundred years, NAS Pensacola, referred to as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation," has supported the operational and training missions of tenant commands, including Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT), Marine Aviation Training Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23 and is the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC).