Fostering Continuous Growth and Improvement: One Program's Journey

Addressing Long-Term Program Goals Marcie, the program administrator of a NAEYC-accredited early learning program, has spent her day answering phone calls, scheduling lunch breaks, and researching grant opportunities for new equipment. How can her program collect and showcase its effective teaching practices and its benefits on children's development and learning over time through documentation? Early childhood educators rely on a variety of methods and materials to document: they take photos of children in various states of play, provide space for art to be hung, and create group projects for children to reflect on as a natural part of their day. Teacher Lawrence comes to realize that there will always be opportunities for engagement and documentation-for example, language and literacy (Standard 2E), supporting children's interests (Standard 3E), and monitoring as children develop self-regulation (Standard 1F)-but that he must choose what to do in each moment.