Accreditation Matters: Child Centered Approach

Individualized Care and Learning

At Open Doors Preschool we believe that every child is unique and special. Children are individuals–each with their own needs and ways to learn. Our teachers and staff really care about what they do and about the children they serve. This is why our accreditation process focuses on child-centered learning and care .

At Open Doors Preschool, children’s ideas, preferences, learning styles, and interests are considered in planning and carrying out classroom activities. When our staff adjusts learning to a child’s needs, we are teaching children and families how to be respectful of the individual uniqueness of age, gender, culture, temperament, and learning styles.

Skilled Teachers and Staff

We know that teachers must have the skills to help children become active participants in their own education and development. Children who have these opportunities are more successful later in life and demonstrate superior critical thinking skills. This means that children who are mentally involved and physically active in the learning process are receiving the best in education. Children can be “educated” in many ways, but if that education fails to foster creative and critical thinking skills, studies show children will ultimately be unsuccessful and unhappy.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

We know that all children have a right to an educational process that helps them grow and develop to their fullest. It is this basic idea that is at the heart of our child-centered education. Daily interactions with children should be focused on supporting all children in their growth and development across all educational domains—social, emotional, physical, linguistic, and intellectual?” This approach to teaching is at the heart of developmentally appropriate practice.

Research-Based Curriculum

One of the ways we promote child-centered learning is by applying a research-based curriculum. A research-based curriculum incorporates the latest early childhood research and best practices. A research-based curriculum takes the needs of every type of learner into account.

“You hear a lot of things about people’s ideas of early childhood education,” says Master Teacher, Miss Ann Powell. “Unfortunately, much of it isn’t based on any research; it’s more of an outdated model based on memorization. We know that memorizing something doesn’t really mean you know anything about it. Math skills are good, but it is the processes that allow the application of those skills that will give success later in life. The same with reading and language skills. Comprehension is the key.”