4. key components of the accreditation process, including the steps involved. 

1st Link : Accreditation Portal Navigation

2nd Link : Self Study Cycle

3rd Link : Standard and Assessment Items

Stage 1 Enroll & Self Study 

Stage 1 of the accreditation process consists on two parts, enrolling in the Portal and conducting a self-study within the program

Part 1: Enrolling in the Portal

 View the screenshot of what the enrollment checklist in the Portal will look like (all links provided above)

 Login to the Accreditation Portal using the same email address that you registered with.

 If you are associated with more than one program, be sure to click on the Program’s name from the home screen. Once you click on the programs name, you will be directed to your dashboard.

•  Click on Step 1: Enrollment tab at the top of the screen 

• Scroll down and the checklist will appear directly on the screen 

• Complete the 3 tasks shown on the checklist 

  •  Program Profile

  •  Rights and Responsibilities

  •  Payment - Make sure you receive a green check marks for each task

  • Click the blue ‘Enroll 

  • Now’ button to submit the Enrollment checklist to NAEYC

  • The Overall Status at the top right corner will change to ENROLLED and a completed date will be listed on the Enrollment tab

  •  Once Enrolled the program will have access to TORCH our resource hub. 

Your Program's 12-months timeline for Stage 1 has begun. Complete Part 2: Conducting a Self Study within the program outside of the Portal.

Part Two : Conducting a Self-Study Within the Program

Use the below resources to conduct the process of self-study. Take this time to fully comprehend the Accreditation Standards & Assessment items, including recommended practices, definitions, rationales and how it all applies to your individual program. 

Learn how to collaborate using the Gearing up for Self Study Handout (all links above)

 Read and analyze the NAEYC Accreditation Standards and Assessment Items (all links above)

 Involve your staff, families, students, and community to gain a true representation of your program. Through this, identify areas where your program may need improvement. You can do this by collecting feedback, surveying, questionnaires and interviews.

Evaluate your current practices and align them with NAEYC recommended practices by identifying your program's strengths and weaknesses.

You are now ready to move forward to Stage 2: Application and Self-Assessment

Stage 2: Apply & Self-Asses

Programs apply and self-assess to document evidence of meeting high-quality standards. In doing so, programs celebrate their strengths and address areas needing more attention. They ensure that the standards are part of their daily practices. Programs in this stage are actively preparing evidence for an accreditation site visit. They also demonstrate that they meet the accreditation eligibility requirements.  

Programs in this stage of the process receive:

•  Self-assessment tools, tips, and planning guides

•  Site visit preparation tools, tips, and planning guides

•  Trainings and webinars

•  Official documentation to acknowledge status 

Ready to apply and conduct a self-assessment?

•  Log in the Accreditation Portal

•  Complete application and submit fee

•  Once approved, prepare to advance to Stage 3 (Candidate for Site Visit) anytime within 1

Through the accreditation Process, it is important to keep updated with what each standards mean.

Describing your program is essential, they are as follow: 

Curriculums, child assessments, classroom daily schedules

Determining and improving on your weakness and strengths.

Improving the program, figuring out how to move toward quality

The credentials of staff and directors

Evaluate the results, programs should be constantly moving in a positive and quality direction. 

Most States have adopted a QRIS which can be viewed as a " Systematic Approach" to assess, improve and communicate the level of quality. The QRIS systems construct on licensing systems within many states pursue to improve the quality of our early childhood programs.

The followings are the steps that QRIS builds on:

Staff-Child Ratios

administrators and staff education

experience, benefits for employees

Implementations and assessment of curriculums that are researched

below are links to: Early childhood Self-Assessment and NAEYC promoting a quality Early Childhood Program

Stage 3. Candidate for Site Visit

Programs in this stage have a strong understanding of the high-quality standards. They have conducted a rigorous self-assessment and can provide strong evidence that their environment, policies, and practices are aligned with the standards. These programs are prepared to host an accreditation site visit.

Programs in this stage of the process receive:

 Self-assessment tools, tips, and planning guides

 Site visit preparation tools, tips, and planning guides

 Trainings and webinars

 Official documentation to acknowledge status 

Site Visit Overview

The NAEYC accreditation site visit provides an independent assessment of program quality by an assessor who has been rigorously trained to provide a reliable rating of the program.  Once an assessor is assigned to your program, he/she will contact the program administrators to plan the visit. 

Due to the pandemic, programs have an option to choose the best way to move forward with their accreditation site visit. Learn more about your options.

Accreditation Decisions

Data from the program records and the site visit will be used to make an accreditation decision. The Council for NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation oversees accreditation decisions by determining, reviewing and overseeing the accreditation standards and policies. Programs will receive their Accreditation Decision Report within three months of the site visit with one of the following accreditation decisions. 

Accredited for a Five Year Term 

•  Program met 80% of the assessment items measured across all standards together, and 

•  Met 60% of the assessment items measured in each single standard, and 

•  Program met 100% of required assessment items, and

•  Each class selected to be assessed met 70% of the assessment items measured

Deferred

•  Program met less than 80% of the assessment items measured across all standards together, and/or 

•  Met less than 60% of the assessment items measured in each single standard, and/or

•  Program did not meet 100% of required assessment items, and/or

•  Each class selected to be assessed did not meet 70% of the assessment items measured.

Deferred programs have two options

1. The Council for NAEYC Accreditation of Early Learning Programs provides a formal appeal process for programs that receive an accreditation deferred decision. This appeals resourcepacket will help guide programs through understanding the appeal process, its related procedures, appeal timelines and requirements. During the appeal process, there is no change in the program’s public accreditation status. For more information view the Appeal Process (things to know) and the Decision Appeals Policy.

2. Deferred programs will be automatically returned to Stage 2 (Enroll and Self-Study) where they can continue the process at a pace that works for them. Site visits can be accelerated depending on how quickly the program completes the necessary steps in the Accreditation Portal and the availability of NAEYC assessors.

Stage 4: Maintain Accreditation  

Accreditation demonstrates both a commitment to quality and continuous quality improvement. Accredited programs continuously ensure that their environment, policies, and practices are aligned with the standards.

Accredited programs maintain their accreditation status by:

•  Adhering to accreditation policies

•  Continuing to meet the accreditation standards and assessment items. 10% of accredited programs are randomly assessed via site visit yearly.

•  Reporting all critical incidents to NAEYC within 72 hours. The nature of the incident may require a verification of evidence with or without a site visit. Use this resource to implement supervision practices and routines. 

•  Submitting Annual Reports with fees.

Programs should begin to reexamine their evidence when they submit Annual Report 3 and prepare for a renewal site visit when they submit Annual Report 4.

Programs in this stage of the process receive:

•  Self-assessment tools, tips, and planning guides

•  Site visit preparation tools, tips, and planning guides

•  Trainings and webinars

•  Official documentation to acknowledge status