12 Aug TCL early care and education program receives prestigious national reaccreditation
Technical College of the Lowcountry | www.tcl.edu
Beaufort | Hampton | New River | Whale Branch
PRESS RELEASE: August 10, 2021
Media Contact: Leigh Copeland | 843.525.8231 | lcopeland@tcl.edu
TCL early care and education program receives prestigious national reaccreditation
Photo: An early care and education student reads aloud to children at a local elementary school.
The Technical College of the Lowcountry early care and education program recently received reaccreditation by the prestigious National Association for the Education of Young Children.
“NAEYC accreditation affirms that we are offering the highest level of educational experience for our students,” said early care and education program director Kelli Boniecki.
NAEYC is the most respected national early childhood association and seeks to foster high-quality programs through its accreditation. This extensive process includes the submission of hundreds of pages of documents and a three-day examination of the instructors, courses and facilities by a committee selected by NAEYC.
“Employers recognize and value NAEYC accreditation. They know that when they hire our graduates, they are getting a highly-qualified early childhood professional,” Boniecki said.
TCL’s early care and education associate degree program can be completed in six semesters. Coursework ranges from guidance and classroom management to science and math concepts. Other courses offer hands-on laboratory field experiences providing students the opportunity to observe children in early childhood settings. General education courses such as English, algebra and public speaking round out the curriculum. The program culminates with a semester-long supervised field experience course that provides students with real-world, hands-on experience in child care settings across the Lowcountry. Four specialty certificate and diploma programs are also offered.
Graduates go to work in a variety of child care settings, including child care centers, preschools, Headstart programs, public schools, private kindergartens or by opening a private or family child care center. Others choose to continue their education and pursue a bachelor’s degree. Most TCL courses transfer to colleges and universities in and out of state.
“Many of our graduates go right into the career field, serving and educating young children across the Lowcountry,” said Boniecki.
For more information, please visit www.tcl.edu/earlycare.
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The Technical College of the Lowcountry is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all qualified applicants for admissions or employment without regard to race, gender, national origin, age, religion, marital status, veteran status, disability, or political affiliation or belief.