Anansi Day School receives gold star

Top marks given in national accreditation renewal

Anansi Day School, a nonprofit preschool in Arroyo Seco, successfully renewed its National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation with near perfect scores. The school received an overall score of 98.1pecent and a special commendation from the NAEYC board for its “outstanding efforts in renewing accreditation.”

NAEYC is the nation’s largest and most widely recognized organization of early childhood educators. NAEY-Caccredited programs go through a voluntary and comprehensive process of internal self-study and improvement, and must meet all 10 of the NAEYC Program Standards and more than 400 related accreditation criteria.

The renewal process is a rigorous one. The school was required to provide detailed evidence in the form of two portfolio folders in preparation for an on-site visit. The assessment includes new areas of focus or “emerging criteria,” regarding programs that are not yet required to meet but should demonstrate progress towards. Anansi Day School was able to show it had already satisfied many of these criteria and consequently received 100-plus in seven of the 10 program standards.

“The school is delighted that its hard work and efforts have been recognized, not just as part of this renewal process but also with respect to the quality of the program we provide for local families on a daily basis.” says Michele Scott, school director.

Scott has been with the school for more than 15 years along with teachers Laura Thompson and Debbie Nichols; all are highly qualified early childhood educators. “Our continuity is definitely one of our strengths,” adds Scott. “Working together as a team for many years has enabled us to really learn and evolve as a faculty, resulting in similar gains across all program areas – curriculum, environment, community, student-teacher relationships. I think the assessors recognized this during the accreditation process.”

The NAEYC Accreditation system was created to set professional standards for early childhood education, and to help families identify high-quality preschools, child care centers and other early education programs. Programs are accredited by NAEYC for a five-year period.

For more information about NAEYC Accreditation, visit naeyc.org/academy.Anansi Day School offers a childdirected program that recognizes the importance of play in a child’s early education experience. The school serves children 3, 4 and 5 years old. Contact Scott at (575) 776-5711 or email anansidayschool@gmail.com.

COURTESY PHOTOS IN 1999, ANANSI DAY SCHOOL BECAME " Ȳ$ȶ NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. THE PURPOSE OF THE SCHOOL IS TO PROVIDE DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE LEARNING EXPERIENCES ESSENTIAL TO YOUNG CHILDREN 3 TO 5 YEARS OLD.