The White Falcon - 22.01.1993, Blaðsíða 1

HITE
FALCON
Icelandic phrases of the week:
Excuse me Afsakld (Ahv sack ilh)
What is this? Hvad er petta
(Kvath air thed dah)
What does it cost? Hvad kostar petta
(Kvath coastarr thed dah)
Vol. 52 No. 03 January 22, 1993
Serving the Iceland Defense Force Community
Child Development Program receives accreditation
By Wes Smith
Marketing and Publicity Assistant
Following six months of training and prepa-
ration, three days of intensive scrutiny, and
two months of waiting for the mail to arrive
each day, the Naval Air Station (NAS),
Keflavfk’s Child Development Program
(CDP) recently received notification it has
been accredited by the National Association
for the Education of Young Children (NA-
EYC). Keflavik’s CDP is the first Navy
overseas child care facility to receive ac-
creditation.
The quest for accreditation began in April
1992 when inspectors from the Bureau of
Naval Personnel (BuPers) arrived chi island
to conduct an unannounced inspection of the
IMorale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)
'Department’s CDP activities.
“The inspection team just showed up at the
door to inspect the facilities,” said Youth
Services Director Lisa Wolfe. “With this
system, we have to be ready all of the time. It
keeps us on our toes.”
When the inspection team departed, they
left behind a grade of “outstanding” for the
Child Development Center (CDC), Learning
Tree and Puffin Preschool . “After our in-
spection, the BuPers team suggested we
apply to the NAEYC for accreditation of our
program,” Wolfe said.
mu
worked so
even
hadn't received
accreditation, the
process would have
been worthwhile
l “This wasn’t a new idea,” said MWR Di-
lector Jack Cristwell of the accreditation
idea. “We were given the approval to seek
accreditation in 1991, but because of budget
constraints we couldn’t apply. This year,
when BuPers awarded us the outstanding, the
decision was made to contact NAECY.”
In May, Wolfe held a meeting with the
staff of the CDC, Learning Tree and Puffin
Preschool to explain the changes needed to
bring Keflavik’s child care program on-line
with NAEYC requirements.
“We began by taking a hard look at our
program,” Wolfe explained, “and that in-
volved every aspect, from staff-to-parent
interviews to class observations.”
All of the information was then placed into
a program booklet where the CDP had to
grade itself on its programs. “We went through
each classroom for this survey. We found we
were in the ballpark, but not quite up to
accreditation standards. We had until Octo-
ber to bring our program in-line with the
NAEYC’s requirements.”
Although this was not an easy task, Wolfe
credits her staff with rising to the challenge.
“We had to adapt to doing day-to-day tasks a
different way, and doing these things until
they became second nature. Every day we
worked toward our objective, and we were
always goal-oriented, even when we inter-
viewedfornew staff members.” With a smile
on her face, and more than a little pride in her
voice, the director praised her staff. “They
worked so hard, and even if we hadn’t re-
ceived accreditation, the process would have
been worthwhile. It was a wonderful self-
study of our program.”
In October, after months of preparation
and anticipation, the NAEYC validator ar-
rived. Wolfe is quick to explain the valida-
tion process was not a white-gloved inspec-
tion.
“The validator was only here to review
what we reported in our program booklet.
She was here for three days, and spent three
or more hours in 13 classrooms, so she got a
great look at how our program runs.
“There were many questions that weren’t
validated during her time in the classrooms,
and that worried me at first. But, not vali-
dated didn’t mean we failed,” she explained.
“We had to sit down with the validator, go
through each question where our rating dif-
fered from hers, and explain why we an-
swered the way we did. It was an exhausting
three days, and after it was over, we just
didn’t know how we did.”
To make matters worse, the validator was
not permitted to tell the CDP staff anything
concerning her visit. “That was terrible,”
Wolfe laughed, “because we knew we might
not get a response for 90 days. No matter
what the result, however, we knew the whole
process had helped us improve our facilities
in all phases.”
“The accreditation...
benefits the whole
community
She said the biggest problem for the pro-
gram is the turnover rate of employees. Due
to this, the child care training system must be
an exceptional one. Wolfe feels this is one of
the center’s strongest areas.
After two months of nail biting, the results
arrived. “We were notified by mail Decem-
ber 22nd that we have been accredited,”
Wolfe said, grinning ear to ear. “It was a
great Christmas present.
“This isn’t just to make us look good,” she
continued, “the accreditation shows the par-
ents we offer quality care and a well-rounded
program. This benefits the whole commu-
nity.”
“The whole MWR team gets credit for our
validation and accreditation,” said MWR’s
director. “The staff of our child care centers
carried out the program, and they were sup-
ported by our administrative, accounting and
supply personnel. Our acceptance by NA-
EYC is a great accomplishment for our whole
MWR Department.”
The CDP’s journey doesn’t stop here, be-
cause new curriculum information is con-
stantly being updated, and the CDP will have
to go through the whole process again in three
years.
“We saw the benefits of accreditation, and
set our goals. I saw a lot of self-improvement
within the last six months, as well as im-
provement in our facilities. We’ve reached a
high level, but we have to keep going,” Wolfe
said. “And I think the staff proved they’re up
to the task.”