NAEYC Accreditation
Boston’s early childhood programs are among the best in the country. One key lever in ensuring quality programs is earning accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), affirming that these programs offer high-quality, state-of-the-art education to help get children off to a successful start. This accreditation process drives transformational change in our early childhood programs and lead to an increasing ability of the school community to engage in quality practices. Through the process of pursuing accreditation, all adults develop the adaptive capacity to:
- Be sensitive and responsive to children and families
- Consistently engage in high quality developmentally appropriate practices
- Show continuous improvement and refinement of the skills, attitudes and dispositions that serve to help young children grow and learn.
Guiding Principles
- Development of the whole child in addition to focusing on academic skills
- Children as strong powerful learners
- Family-centered practices
- Cultural Competence
- Assessment includes observation and reflection and is used to drive and modify curriculum so it responds to the needs of individual children
- Ongoing development of portfolios
- Developing the capacity of the school-based personnel to own the process and maintain quality
Our Goal
Our goal is for all BPS elementary schools to achieve accreditation. Currently, 44 schools have received NAEYC accreditation, with another 6 in process (generally a 3-4 year process). These 49 schools represent over 60% of the total number of elementary schools in the Boston Public Schools.
BPS Early Childhood Programs that have received accreditation (in alphabetical order):
- Baldwin ELC
- Beethoven
- Blackstone Elementary
- Chittick
- Clap Innovation
- Conley
- Curley
- East Boston EEC
- Edison
- Eliot
- Ellis
- Ellison/Parks
- Everett
- Gardner Pilot Academy
- Guild
- Hale
- Haley
- Harvard-Kent
- Haynes EEC
- Holland
- Holmes
- J.F. Kennedy
- Kenny
- King
- Lee Academy
- Mason
- Mather
- McKay
- Mendell
- Mission Hill K-8
- Mozart
- Murphy
- O'Donnell
- Orchard Gardens
- Perkins
- Philbrick
- Roosevelt
- Russell
- Taylor
- Tynan
- UP Academy Dorchester
- Warren-Prescott
- West Zone ELC
- Winship
Schools that are working with us on meeting the accreditation standards include:
- Condon, Jackson/Mann, Lee K-8, Mattapan Early Elementary, Quincy, and Winthrop
Educator Effectiveness and NAEYC
The BPS Department of Early Childhood has aligned the NAEYC criteria with the Rubric of Effective Teaching from the Office of Human Capital: Effective Teaching Rubric
NAEYC Portfolio Development
As part of the NAEYC accreditation process each of our programs and grade levels are required to provide documentation that demonstrates how they meet the quality standards. These templates help guide our teachers and administrators in this process.
Please note that the program portfolio is a work in progress. We are constantly working to provide as much of the centralized information about our programs to minimize the time demands on principals in compiling and showcasing this information. The files below are in view-only formats. In order to make changes to these templates you will need to either make a copy of the presentation into your Google Drive or download the presentation to your computer. To make a copy, log into your own Google Account. Click on the portfolio template below that you would like to edit. Once the presentation opens, click "File" then "Make a copy," which will copy the entire presentation into your personal Google Drive. You will then be able to edit this file. Please note the templates are currently unavailable as they are being updated; let your accreditation mentor know if you require access.
- Program Portfolio Template
- K0-K1 Classroom Portfolio Template
- K2 Classroom Portfolio Template
- Mentor Files (BPS only)
Contact us if you have any questions about the portfolio templates or are looking for portfolio support.