NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN
Mission Statement
NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
About This Cause
NAEYC—Who We Are and What We Do With 60,000 members and 300 affiliated state and local early childhood organizations, NAEYC is the nation’s leading voice on behalf of young children and early childhood educators. We work to ensure equitable access to high-quality early learning, especially for children in poverty; advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession recognized for its critical role in society; and strengthen the association’s capacity for fostering excellence in early education through leadership and innovation. Convenor and Catalyst NAEYC is known for its convening role, serving as a catalyst and consensus builder for complex and controversial issues related to early childhood systems. Our standards for early childhood professional preparation and early childhood programs are widely recognized as frameworks for excellence. NAEYC position statements, for example, on developmentally appropriate practice and the use of technology in early childhood programs, have forged new understandings by bridging diverse points of view. A Key Source for Professional Learning NAEYC sponsors the largest gatherings of early childhood professionals each year at our Annual Conference and National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. Young Children is a respected professional journal linking research, policy and practice. Teaching Young Children is a magazine specifically for preschool educators. Our award-winning Families website helps families locate programs and provides useful information about early learning. Our catalog features more than 100 publications, including the best-selling Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Antibias Education, and Powerful Interactions. Accreditor of Children’s Programs and Professional Preparation Programs NAEYC accreditation of programs for young children is widely recognized as the mark of quality in early childhood education. Currently, nearly 7000 child care centers, preschools, and kindergartens are NAEYC-accredited, and NAEYC accreditation is included in 38 state Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). Our accreditation of associate degree programs (currently 158 programs) and recognition of initial and advanced higher education programs (currently 400+ programs) serves as a linchpin for building cross-sector, integrated professional development systems. A Respected Voice in Policy and Advocacy NAEYC’s public policy and advocacy efforts take a systems approach to ensuring high quality care and education for all young children, birth through age 8, with a particular focus on children living in poverty, multilingual children, children of color, and children with disabilities. By connecting research, policy and practice, NAEYC strives to meet the ideal that all young children have access to high-quality early learning experiences and that all early childhood educators are able to attain the higher education and professional development that inspire high standards and innovation in every early education setting.