Accreditation
The links below outline the details regarding alignment of ExceleRate Illinois standards with national accreditations. In the summer of 2013, the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development (OECD) invited all national accrediting bodies to have their accreditation cross-walked with the ExceleRate Illinois standards. If you are an accrediting body looking for information on the alignment process, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If your program is accredited by one of these accrediting bodies, you are able to use your accreditation to show evidence for many of the ExceleRate Illinois standards. Please review the crosswalk summary for details and the additional requirements for alignment with ExceleRate Illinois.
To apply via an accreditation path, accreditation must cover all of the ages served within the program.
American Montessori Society (AMS) Accreditation (277 KB)
Council on Accreditation (COA) (278 KB)
National Accreditation Commission (NAC) Accreditation (278 KB)
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Accreditation
(278 KB)
ExceleRate Illinois recognizes full NAEYC accreditation only. Illinois currently allows accreditation site visits and Illinois programs are encouraged to take the standard NAEYC route. Programs that have started on NAEYC’s Provisional Accreditation route may continue, but ExceleRate will not recognize their accreditation until Step 2, the site visit, is completed and full accreditation granted.
National Accreditation for Family Child Care (NAFCC) Accreditation (364 KB)
National Accreditation for Family Child Care (NAFCC) Accreditation - Spanish (436 KB)
National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA) (277 KB)
Once you have reviewed the crosswalk, use the additional Standard and Evidence Requirements to find what pieces will need to be met beyond your accreditation.
Resources 