Early Childhood Program Receives National Accreditation

May 1, 2018

Hudson Valley Community College's associate in applied science degree in Early Childhood recently received reaccreditation by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The seven-year designation confirms the program meets the highest standards of professionalism and teaching.

NAEYC sets the national standards for higher education programs for early childhood teacher preparation from the associate degree to graduate-level programs. Since the associate degree accreditation process was established in 2006, only 208 programs have earned NAEYC accreditation.

Hudson Valley's Early Childhood A.A.S. degree, which has been in existence at the college since 1970, serves approximately 250 students each year. The degree is one of several education-related degrees and certificate programs within the Teacher Preparation Department.

Educators from the NAEYC were on campus during the fall semester to interview students, faculty and other stakeholders related to the program. They visited several clinical field sites used by the program and observed the faculty and students in several classes.

"The reaccreditation substantiates the excellence of our program and the caliber of our faculty and students," said Department Chair Toni Howard. "It also provides an opportunity to review our practices and see areas of growth since our last review as well as areas we wish to improve upon."

Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of nearly 11,500 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 80,000 alumni.