CDC program deemed safe, educational Published Nov. 6, 2007 By Corey Dahl 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- A prominent national organization has accredited the Child Development Center here for the next five years. The National Association for the Education of Young Children approved the center's submission for accreditation Oct. 31, making it one of roughly 10,000 centers nationwide to meet the organization's rigorous standards. "We were ecstatic to get the good news," said Toni Hansen, chief of family member programs at the CDC. "Our teachers, parents and administration all worked hard for this." The accreditation process took roughly a year for the CDC. First, the center's staff created a portfolio for the program, outlining a typical day and showing how the program meets 10 standards set by the NAEYC. The NAEYC then accepted the CDC for candidacy and sent an assessor to spend three days evaluating the center's program. After that, the CDC staff had to wait for results for several weeks - anxiously. "I was pretty confident we would be accredited," Ms. Hansen said. "But we were still nervous; the waiting is never fun." It turned out they had nothing to worry about. After receiving word that the CDC was accredited, the center's administration held an impromptu pizza party for the staff, hung balloons around the center and is working on alerting parents about the good news. "It's important to let parents know they're putting their child into a program that adheres to the rigorous standards required by the NAEYC in health, safety and education," she said. "All parents want to make sure their children are safe and cared for and also learning." And that's something that's not likely to change soon. Ms. Hansen, noting that the CDC is also inspected annually by military evaluators, said the center is constantly looking at ways to better its program. "We're always striving to provide the best care for our children and their families," she said. "We can't really put our guard down, ever."