WVU Medicine Child Development Center earns national accreditation
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The WVU Medicine Child Development Center on the campus of J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), achieving a standard held by less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools, and kindergartens nationally, according to NAEYC. 
NAEYC is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children. Its accreditation process is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality-improvement in high-quality early learning environments.
“I am so proud of these incredible teachers and staff for their commitment to quality early education practices every day,” Amy Cook, director of the WVU Medicine Child Development Center, said. “It is a privilege to observe these gems interacting with children, families, each other – doing what they love. It is an honor to have the opportunity to showcase our program and achieve national recognition. We look forward to continuing studying high quality early care and education through the lens of NAEYC.”
To earn NAEYC accreditation, the WVU Medicine Child Development Center (administered by Bright Horizons) participated in an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process, followed by an unannounced, on-site visit by NAEYC assessors to verify and ensure that the program met each of the 10 program standards, and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. The accreditation term lasts for five years.
“NAEYC-accredited programs have committed to a process that takes time, energy, and dedication to complete,” Alissa Mwenelupembe, senior director, Early Learning Program Accreditation, said. “The WVU Medicine Child Development Center has demonstrated their commitment to young children and their families.”
For more information about NAEYC accreditation, visit NAEYC.org.