updated 4/9/08...ecw

Standards

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (www.naesp.org) endorses accreditation criteria for early childhood programs developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and professional standards developed by Head Start. NAESP recommends that these criteria guide implementation of all programs, whether they are operated by schools or other community organizations.

The National Association for Education of Young Children:

Accreditation Performance Criteria: http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/next_era.asp
NAEYC Recommended Class Size and Teacher Ratios:

http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/performance_criteria/teacher_child_ratios.html

Head Start Performance Standards:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/performance/

IN ADDITION:

The National Institute for Early Education Research

(http://nieer.org/about/)

The goal of NIEER is to produce and communicate the knowledge base required to ensure that every American child can receive a good education at ages three and four. NIEER has ten quality benchmarks, aligned with NAEYC and Head Start, to define each state’s progress towards achieving quality pre kindergarten experiences for all children. These benchmarks include:

Curriculum Standards; Teacher Degree Requirement; Teacher Specialized Training; Assistant Teacher Degree Requirement; Teacher in-service requirement; Maximum Class Size; Staff-Child Ratios ;Screening/Referral ;Family Support Service; Nutrition.

ü Schools should become familiar with these national standards which define developmentally appropriate practice and comprehensive programs and use them as they plan for a four year old program.

These two rule chapters set the overall guidance for Maine schools in guiding program practice.

§ Chapter 125: BASIC APPROVAL STANDARDS: PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

§ Chapter 127: INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM, ASSESSMENT AND DIPLOMA REQUIREMENTS

http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/chaps05.htm

The State of Maine has created an Early Care and Education Quality Rating System.

QRS Application Manual

Four Year Old program Info

Standards

ü Schools should become familiar with these national standards which define developmentally appropriate practice and comprehensive programs and use them as they plan for a four year old program.