FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center at the University of Arkansas has maintained accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children — the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children.

The Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center cares for children in the Fayetteville area from eight weeks old to five years, serves as the lab school for students at the U of A in a variety of education programs, and serves as a place of research for university faculty, graduate students, undergraduates and educators. The center is housed in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

NAEYC Accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system using 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.

"We are proud to have maintained the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards," said Shelley McNally, executive director of education programs at the center. "It is through our working relationship with Bumpers College and the School of Human and Environmental Sciences that we are able to provide such high-quality environments for the children and University of Arkansas students. Additionally, our close and collaborative relationship with the Birth to Kindergarten licensure program, directed by Laura Herold, has helped us achieve our accreditation goals, and set new ones for innovative programs that will provide children with unique opportunities, help train educators and add to the body of research regarding children with the overall goal of improving the lives of children everywhere."

"Because high-quality childcare is a critical need for the health and wellness of a community, it is hard to understate the importance of the JTCDSC and its exceptional early childhood education programs, educators and administrative team," said Betsy Garrison, professor and director of the School of Human Environmental Sciences. "They not only provide a valuable service to children and families, but contribute to the overall health and economic success of the university and state of Arkansas. We look forward to continued success and innovative programs that will address disparity in research, inspire our pre-service teacher training program and engage the community."

To maintain NAEYC Accreditation, the JTCDSC went through an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC Assessors to verify and ensure the program met the 10 program standards and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are expected to maintain the measures of quality for a five-year cycle. To monitor on-going adherence to standards set forth by NAEYC, unannounced quality assurance visits can happen throughout the five-year accreditation period. 

"Through the accreditation process, our educators and administrative team set a high standard for our work with children, families and other professionals," said McNally. "We demonstrated determination, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to constantly learning and improving for the sake of the families and children we serve."

In the 30 years since NAEYC Accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. More than 7,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC, but less than 10 percent of all child care centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.

"NAEYC-Accredited programs bring our definitions of excellence for early childhood education to life each day," said Kristen Johnson, senior director of Early Learning Program Accreditation at NAEYC. "Maintaining NAEYC Accreditation makes the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center an exemplar of good practice for families and the entire community."

For more information about NAEYC Accreditation, visit the NAEYC website.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.