Inside Duke Medicine

Center receives 5-star license

Duke Children’s Campus, managed by Bright Horizons Family Solutions, has received a five-star rated license from the state of North Carolina and accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation’s leading organization of early childhood educators dedicated to improving the quality of child care programs.

“These distinctions of quality reflect our talented faculty who are committed to providing the highest-quality care for children in an environment where they can grow and thrive,” said Valerie Person, director of the Duke Children’s Campus, which offers full- and part-time child care for Duke faculty and staff. “The care and education children receive in their earliest years will have an immeasurable impact on the people they grow to be. We are proud to play such an important role in this critical point in their development.”

The license and accreditation provide a process through which early childhood professionals and families can evaluate programs, compare them with professional standards, strengthen programs and commit to ongoing evaluation and improvement.

To attain a five-star license and NAEYC accreditation, a child care center must undergo a series of inspections from the state and the NAEYC accreditation board respectively. The center must meet strict quality criteria and comply with all state and local regulations. NAEYC accreditation is the early education industry’s highest mark of quality, a measure achieved by fewer than eight percent of child care centers nationwide.

More than 80 percent of Bright Horizons’ eligible centers have achieved NAEYC accreditation, compared with just 8 percent of centers nationwide. According to recent studies, high-quality child care increases children’s ability to succeed academically and socially later in life.

Five-Star Rated License and NAEYC accreditation indicate a child care center meets or exceeds the kinds of quality standards required to give children this important start in life. In a recent study of Bright Horizons Family Solutions graduates more than 96 percent of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child entered kindergarten prepared and enthusiastic about learning.

The Duke Children’s Campus opened in 1991 and now provides care for more than 150 children of Duke faculty, staff and graduate students. The facility’s popularity is evidenced by a long waitlist for admission. For more information about the Duke Children’s Campus, visit their web site