NAEYC and Massachusetts EEC Collaboration Announcement
NAEYC is pleased to announce a partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Early
Education and Care (MA-EEC). In collaboration with MA-EEC staff, NAEYC will pilot an
assessment protocol that aligns NAEYC Accreditation of Programs for Young Children with
Massachusetts’ Quality Rating and Improvement System (MA-QRIS).
In doing so, both organizations will offer programs in Massachusetts the opportunity to pursue
MA-QRIS and NAEYC Accreditation in a coordinated manner, thereby creating a streamlined
process that reduces redundancy and allows programs to focus on providing quality experiences
to children and families. The pilot will seek to align the visit process for both accreditation
systems, as well as to develop reporting methods that combine assessment results for MA-QRIS
and NAEYC Accreditation.
Massachusetts, a Race to the Top state, has long been a stronghold of NAEYC Accreditation.
With more than 700 programs currently accredited by NAEYC, the state and its children,
teachers, and program administrators stand to benefit from this exciting cooperative effort. The
pilot will also further the goals of MA-EEC’s Brain Building in Progress initiative, raising
awareness of the extent to which high-quality early childhood education positively affects
Massachusetts’ future. In turn, NAEYC will further its commitment to high-quality early
childhood education by ensuring that programs working to meet MA-EEC’s standards of quality
may also pursue NAEYC Accreditation as part of a unified, overlapping process.
NAEYC and MA-EEC will work together to identify programs that are participating in MAQRIS and are also awaiting NAEYC visits in the near future to participate in this project. If
selected, individual programs will be contacted to confirm their interest.
If you have questions about this project, you may contact NAEYC's Stephanie Olmore at
[email protected] or MA-EEC's Carol Nolan at [email protected].
For more information on NAEYC Accreditation for Programs for Young Children, visit our
website: http://www.naeyc.org/academy/.
Information regarding Massachusetts’ Brain Building in Progress initiative can be found at
http://www.brainbuildinginprogress.org/.