{"id":22286,"date":"2025-05-13T22:16:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T04:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-early-learning-center-earns-prestigious-accreditation\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:12:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:12:59","slug":"mancos-early-learning-center-earns-prestigious-accreditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-early-learning-center-earns-prestigious-accreditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos Early Learning Center earns prestigious accreditation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Mancos school district has announced that its early learning center has earned the NAEYC Accreditation+ distinction. (Journal file photo)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Mancos Early Learning Center announced this weekend that it has achieved NAEYC Accreditation+, a distinguished recognition from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which the center says highlights its commitment to high-quality, early child education.<\/p>\n

The NAEYC Accreditation, which is regarded as the gold standard in early learning, evaluates programs on teaching strategies, family engagement, health and safety, leadership and continuous improvement. The Accreditation+ designation goes further, requiring a guaranteed site visit and additional quality assurance measures to ensure transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn September, I came across a social media post from NAEYC announcing a new pilot research study. They were seeking early learning programs to help test and refine a revised, tiered accreditation system,\u201d Mancos Early Learning director Tyra Hughes told The<\/em> Journal<\/em>. \u201cThe goal of the study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of this updated process across diverse communities and program types.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only 39 programs nationwide were selected.<\/p>\n

Fewer than 10% of early learning programs nationwide earn NAEYC Accreditation, with even fewer pursuing the enhanced Accreditation+ status.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want families to know that this accreditation is a reflection of our deep commitment to their children,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cPursuing NAEYC Accreditation+ is a voluntary process that allows us to examine our program through a high-quality lens, to celebrate our strengths and identify areas for continued growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mancos Early Learning Center\u2019s accreditation will allow the center to continue emphasizing intentional teaching, nurturing relationships and child-centered learning.<\/p>\n

Hughes also noted the milestone\u2019s significance for staff, families and the Mancos community as a whole, pointing to the program\u2019s alignment with rigorous national standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarning Accreditation+ shows that what happens every day at MELC, intentional teaching, nurturing relationships and child-centered learning, is backed by national standards and verified through in-person observation,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cThis is a meaningful milestone for our staff, families and the Mancos community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NAEYC, which was established in 1985, promotes research-based practices in early childhood education. Mancos Early Learning Center\u2019s accreditation is valid for five years, with annual reporting required to maintain compliance and ensure ongoing improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis accreditation reflects Mancos\u2019 commitment to educational excellence from the very beginning of a child\u2019s journey. At MELC, we lay the foundation for future learning by focusing on the whole child, supporting growth in language, literacy, math, social-emotional skills and physical development through play-based, hands-on experiences,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cNAEYC Accreditation+ confirms that the youngest learners in Mancos are receiving an education grounded in research, guided by best practices and designed to help every child thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

accreditation reflects the center\u2019s dedication to early learning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[155,28,83,392,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-education","tag-headlines","tag-mancos","tag-mancos-school-district-re-6","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77650,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22286\/revisions\/77650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22286"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=22286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}