Week of the Young Child recognizes importance of early learning

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is recognizing April 1-7 as the Week of the Young Child, an event promoting the importance of early learning in children’s lives.

NAEYC offers resources for early childhood professionals and provides accreditation to early childhood programs that meet standards in ten areas such as curriculum, assessment of child progress, staff qualifications, and other categories that demonstrate high-quality early learning programming.

Locally, Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP)’s Head Start, Early Head Start, and Migrant & Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs have made a difference in the lives of 1,512 children and their families in 2022.

“Every year we see the positive impact of Head Start services,” GLCAP Child Development Director Jacquie Wells said. “Throughout the school year, we see students make gains in using language and knowing the alphabet, understanding number concepts, improving socialization, and gaining other skills that will help them be ready for kindergarten.”

Wells said GLCAP has worked to continually improve its preschool services, part of which includes seeking NAEYC accreditation for each early childhood center operated by GLCAP.

GLCAP’s Early Childhood Centers in Bowling Green, Clyde, Fostoria, Fremont, Genoa, Perrysburg/Rossford, Port Clinton, and Tiffin are all NAEYC accredited. GLCAP’s Bancroft and Sylvania Early Childhood Centers will begin the accreditation process during the upcoming school year, and GLCAP’s MSHS centers in Fremont, Napoleon, New Carlisle, and Shiloh are starting the process of achieving Step Up To Quality rating, Ohio’s early education standard for recognizing high-quality preschool programming.

For more information on GLCAP’s early learning programs, visit www.glcap.org/earlychildhood or call 1-800-775-9767.