BAUMHOLDER, Germany - In the wake of the recent accreditation of the Wetzel and Smith Child Development Centers by the National Academy for the Education of Young Children, the director of Child, Youth and Schools Services, Bonnie Phelps, explained what accreditation means to the centers, the employees who work there and the Baumholder military community.
Accreditation is almost like earning a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, she said.
"Employees of Smith and Wetzel CDCs can proudly state that work in an accredited center that offers quality care. It's a bit like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for child care professionals. This can be placed on their resumes in the future and is a well accepted factor in hiring a new employee as it means they understand and have 'lived' the standards of the industry established by the national association," said Phelps.
Accreditation also says something about the employees who work at the centers and their dedication to the trade.
"Because it is so hard to accomplish, it means that this is a team effort by all employees in CYSS. Others have gone into the classrooms so that the teachers can come out and work on portfolios (there is one for each room and one for each child). In addition, management teams had to pull together to produce 10 more volumes of information. Everyone worked together on Smith's and then Wetzel's to accomplish this.
"It has meant weekends, evenings, working at home for many and it has meant a full team effort. Working as a team strengthens the entire team which in turn allows us to provide quality care here at Baumholder CYSS. Without the original teams building on each other's strengths and working between all programs, this could not be accomplished. We have a wonderful and very dedicated team at CYSS, and it all begins with the caregivers who provide the direct care. Without their dedication, there would be no child development center. They are the core of our care," said Phelps.
Earning accreditation does not mean that employees can sit back and relax once it's over. In fact, it is only the beginning. For the next five years they must produce annual reports and are subject to surprise inspections by the NAEYC.
High standards
"All of the portfolios on each child have to be maintained and kept up to date, annual reports address the areas we need to work on, the 10 center volumes need to be updated regularly as do the room portfolios. The same standards are expected to be maintained because the academy does unannounced spot checks to assure the continuance of quality. It is not a peak and valley system where the quality goes up and down. It is a circle where we strive to stay on top all of the time - a cycle of inspections that are both internal and external, monthly health and safety inspections and training for every new employee to clearly define the expectations and skills necessary to continue to maintain high-quality care and the standards of NAEYC which speaks for the industry as the largest organization of early childhood professionals in the nation," said Phelps.
As with many team efforts, there are usually those whose contributions were significant but whose efforts are overshadowed by the people on the front lines. Phelps points out that without these unsung heroes the centers may not have achieved success.
"It cannot be reiterated enough, this accreditation involved the contributions and time of every single employee in our organization. The highest levels of commendation go to the caregivers and direct care and management staff at each center. The director is the lead along with her team to pull it all together. The unsung heroes are the facility techs who worked with DPW to assure that equipment was in place, proper labeling and pictures were up, that the center was clean and painted, that the physical environment rated an A. From myself down, there was no one who did not have an invested interest in this process," said Phelps.
When NAEYC officials show up to look at a center, their inspection is not limited to the center and its personnel. "There is also the DFMWR and commander who are rated on the accomplishment of this accreditation. We received support and technical assistance from the IMCOM team as well as FMWRC. It is an Army standard written into law/legislation that every eligible program work on and accomplish this task, but the burden falls on the local programs to achieve it," said Phelps.
There is no question that accreditation is a challenge, and Phelps along with all the Smith and Wetzel CDC employees made many personal sacrifices to accomplish the task.
"This is exhausting - burns us out - but feels so wonderful once it is accomplished. And I sure am glad, as I am sure the staff is, that it only requires another full validation every five years.
"Both centers also spent a lot of time sharing ideas, meeting and gathering time lines and materials. We went into a pause last year because it was so stressful to accomplish while our Soldiers were deploying since 65 to 70 percent of our staff are family members, but it was also stressful to accomplish while the Soldiers were gone - another Catch- 22 for fitting into multiple deployment cycles.
"This is a hard accomplishment in traditional civilian programs and Head Start when they have consistency, so imagine doing it here under ever changing circumstances.
"I'm very proud of all we accomplished. This is a milestone for our programs and for my teams," said Phelps.
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