National Association For The Education of Young Children - History

History

In the 1920s, concern over the varying quality of emerging nursery school programs in the United States triggered Patty Smith Hill to gather prominent figures in the field to decide how to best ensure the existence of high-quality programs. Meeting in Washington, DC, the group negotiated the issue of a manual, called "Minimum Essentials for Nursery Education," that set out standards and methods of acceptable nursery schools. Three years later, the group cemented the existence of a professional association of nursery school experts named the National Association for Nursery Education (NANE). NANE changed its name to NAEYC in 1964.

The association has existed for over 80 years. Its holds two national early childhood conferences per year, the NAEYC Annual Conference & Expo and the NAEYC National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. The NAEYC Annual Conference & Expo is the largest early childhood education conference in the world. The association publishes periodicals, books, professional development materials, and resources, all of which relate to the education of young children. The association is also active in public policy work. The association is well known for accrediting high-quality child care/preschool centers, and more than 10,000 centers, programs and schools have earned NAEYC Accreditation.