Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center earns its early childhood accreditation
The Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center has earned accreditation from the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs (NAC) for outstanding early childhood programs which meet national standards of quality.
The center, operated by Child Care of Southwest Florida, Inc., is located at 4650 Fowler St. in Fort Myers and is licensed to care for 105 children from ages 1 to 12.
The child care center is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and offers before and after school child care as well as evening care for parents who work nights.
“Accreditation is not meant to replace parents’on-site visits to centers as a means of selecting the program that best meets their child’s needs,” said Messina Center Director Tammy Aronson, “But accreditation does help parents recognize the varied components that should be present in a quality program.”
To become accredited, the Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center had to meet a variety of strict criteria related to providing a developmentally appropriate program for pre-school children. These criteria range from providing a program that exceeds state licensing requirements to providing professional development opportunities for staff, as well as parental involvement.
Accreditation includes an on-site study of the program by an early childhood professional followed by a final assessment of the center by commissioners from the National Accreditation Commission For Early Care and Education Programs.
In addition to providing child care, Child Care of Southwest Florida, Inc., conducts and coordinates training for child care workers, and administers the federal Child Care Food Program for child care centers and family child care homes.
For more information call 278-1148 or visit: www.ccswfl.org/messina.