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Health & Fitness

How to select the best preschool for your child

 

Why is getting your education from a recognized institution important?

Imagine that you started your engineering studies at one university and then, before you complete your degree, you need to relocate to another area.  Imagine, then, that the courses you completed thus far are not recognized by the university to where you want to transfer.  You get the picture.

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Besides the obvious advantage of completing coursework that is widely recognized and accepted by other institutions, the matter goes beyond this scenario.  Education is not something that can be easily evaluated in order to determine its quality and value.  For example, when someone presents us with a diploma from a school that we have never heard of before, we wonder: was the coursework comprehensive?  Was the quality of the teachings appropriate?  Did the school assess whether the student assimilated the material?  Is a degree from this unknown institution equivalent to that of a recognized school?

Too often, in the case of private institutions, the quality and scope of the education provided varies greatly and, unfortunately, some schools prioritize profits above education.  Yes, most private institutions must function at a profit, or at least not at a loss, to stay viable; however, there are different motivations for managing a learning institution, and the quality of its education must never take a second place.

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Accreditation.

Achieving accreditation, and then earning broad recognition from other institutions, shows that the quality of the product provided is important and worthy of the efforts and resources that reaching these goals demand from a school.  This is particularly true for early childhood education. While most students wouldn’t consider enrolling in a non-accredited, non-recognized university, many parents don’t give the same consideration to a preschool.  Unlike credits from a university, studies completed at a preschool are usually regarded as vague and non-sophisticated; but, as with most things, there is much more than meets the eye.

In Virginia, a child that completes kindergarten at a private non-recognized preschool will not get credit for that year upon entering the public elementary school system.  Although the public school will still accept the child to first grade, if his/her age is appropriate, the fact remains that the child’s educational record won’t reflect the year spent completing kindergarten.  On the other hand, if the child does complete kindergarten at a recognized preschool, the public school educational record will forever show the completion of these studies.

In addition to the fact that the child will have a kindergarten diploma that carries intrinsic value, there are other obvious benefits to enrolling in an accredited, recognized preschool, such as the actual quality and enriching value of the education obtained.  A professional, reputable accreditation provides assurances that certain educational, safety, and operational standards are followed, enforced, and constantly improved.  It also examines the systems that the school has in place to assess its effectiveness when compared to the level of learning that the students absorbed from the teachings.

As with any audit, the credibility of the results of the observations depends on the quality of the auditor. Accrediting a learning institution requires a specialized set of skills, including having the proper standards to be used as benchmarks, an understanding of the teaching process and how to improve it, and knowledge of the right qualities of an educator and how to develop them. Therefore, when presented with a certificate of accreditation, we must consider the quality and credentials of the accrediting body.

AdvancED is regarded as the gold standard in education accreditation.  This entity is the world’s largest education community, serving more than 30,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in more than 70 countries that educate over 16 million students.  Many high learning institutions, such as Duke University and the University of Virginia, are accredited by AdvancED through one of their three US-based accreditation agencies — the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).

Recently, AdvancED, with the participation of the leader in educational child care in the country, Primrose Schools, completed a new standard specific to preschools: the AdvancED Standard for Quality Early Learning Schools.  This new benchmark is now being used in the accreditation process of some selected schools, and will differentiate a quality institution of early education even in a very crowded and many times unprofessional space.  Thus, an accreditation from AdvancED, under the new Standards for Quality Early Learning Schools, brings reliable assurance of a well-planned, comprehensive educational system, and that the institution is committed to delivering the best in early education within a safe and nurturing environment.

State Recognition.

The Virginia Board of Education recognizes some private educational institutions and the Virginia Council for Private Education (VCPE) is tasked with overseeing accreditation and issuing recognition to preschools, elementary schools, and secondary schools in the Commonwealth. 

As VCPE indicates:

All approved accrediting organizations must meet the VCPE core set of standards.  A peer review process and an annual reporting requirement have been developed to monitor the standards.  Accreditation through a VCPE Approved State Recognized Accrediting Member guarantees the transfer of student credits from the state recognized accredited private school to a public school and ensures recognition of teacher licensure credits for time served in an accredited private school.

In other words, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and its Board of Education, relies on the expertise of VCPE to examine and assess the quality of the accreditation that a private school has.  Those schools that bear accreditation from a recognized, reputable body, such as AdvancED, are then visited and reviewed by VCPE before being recommended for recognition and incorporated into VCPE’s “State Recognized Accredited Private School” list, a document publicly available at www.vcpe.org.

A message for parents.

As parents, we have the responsibility of providing the best possible education for our children during the critical formative years that occur before the age of 5.  And, as we previously mentioned, sometimes determining what the best early education is proves to be a difficult task.  Nonetheless, we do have available resources to aid us in the process.

A solid accreditation, such as that provided by AdvancED under their new Standards for Quality Early Learning Schools, is a clear, independent indication that the school has in place, and practices, all the elements necessary to deliver the best possible education to the young child.  Such elements include procedures for training, evaluating, and developing their teachers, a comprehensive and professionally-developed curriculum, and support materials that maximize the learning experience in a stimulating and engaging atmosphere.  Accredited schools are listed at www.advanc-ed.org

Moreover, for a preschool to achieve recognition from Virginia’s Board of Education is further proof of its commitment to education.  Learning which schools are recognized is easy; just download the list of “State Recognized Accredited Private Schools” at www.vcpe.org.

Most likely, few schools in your community are accredited by a reputable educational body such as AdvancED, and even fewer are recognized by the State of Virginia.  Use these resources and determine which preschool is deserving of your trust in providing the best, most comprehensive education early on in your child’s life.  One day they will thank you for it.

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Victor Taboada, and his wife Adela, are the owners of the Primrose School of Ashburn, an AdvancEDaccredited, VCPErecognized private preschool in Northern Virginia, and strong advocates for high quality education at all levels as the surest way to guarantee success and fulfillment in life. The Primrose School of Ashburn was recently selected as “Best of Loudoun” by readers of Leesburg Today / Ashburn Today.





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