Penn College News

Children’s Learning Center earns continued accreditation

Friday, August 12, 2022

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Dunham Children’s Learning Center has earned continued accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children – the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children.

NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality improvement in high-quality early learning environments.

“This is the highest level of accreditation that a program can receive in early education,” said Linda A. Reichert, Children’s Learning Center director. “The staff and I work very hard to uphold these standards each day.”



Children enjoy the outdoor play space at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Dunham Children’s Learning Center. The center recently received continued accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. To earn NAEYC accreditation, the Children’s Learning Center underwent an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC assessors to verify that the program meets each of the 10 program standards and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.

The center overall received a 97.11% passing rating out of 100%.

“The accreditation process required a great deal of dedication from the teaching and administrative staff of the Children’s Learning Center,” said Hillary E. Hofstrom, vice president for people and culture at Penn College. “Their unwavering commitment to early childhood education and care is evidenced in obtaining this continued accreditation.”

In the 30 years since NAEYC accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. More than 6,000 programs are accredited by NAEYC; less than 10% of all child care centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.

“NAEYC-accredited programs have committed to a process that takes time, energy and dedication to complete,” said Alissa Mwenelupembe, senior director, early learning program accreditation for NAEYC. “The Dunham Children’s Learning Center has demonstrated its commitment to young children and their families.”

The Children’s Learning Center serves students and employees whose children need high-quality, on-campus care and education while their parents work or attend classes. The center has been accredited by NAEYC since 1999.

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.