Research tells us that children who attend high-quality child care programs are more socially and emotionally well adjusted than children who do not. Quality programs meet established standards, are regularly evaluated and seek continuous improvement. There are well-defined systems in place for measuring ECE program quality. Here’s more information about the quality of our program. 

Licensing Requirements:  GCDC’s Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) licensing number is 32975.

Nonpublic School Certification:  GCDC’s private school certification number is 09-16-7877. The standards for a non-public school are more stringent than that of the licensing requirements for a daycare center.

Accreditation: GCDC is accredited by Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the National Association For the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).  Program accreditation is a process by which early care and education programs can significantly improve the quality of the services they provide. In this process, a program voluntarily pursues self-study, program improvement, and external program review to achieve and publicly confirm that it meets national or state quality standards. The accreditation process presents a clear, consistent strategy to improve the quality of early childhood education services. This strategy is “clear” because all participating programs implement a set process for program improvement, and it is “consistent” because programs operate the same set of national or state standards.  Program accreditation implies that services provided move beyond mere licensing and regulatory requirements. Program accreditation standards represent the highest quality and reflect research-based, best practices in early childhood education. To learn more about NAEYC Accreditation click here. To find out more about the MSDE Accreditation click here.

Health and Wellness Recognition: The early years set the stage for healthy life-long habits. In recognition of our commitment to serve healthy foods and promote physical activity, MSDE has awarded GCDC the Health and Wellness Recognition.

Program Administration Scale (PAS) Recognition:  In addition to providing quality child care and early education, successful programs have sound business practices and strong organizational structure. MSDE has recognized GCDC for its high PAS scores.

Asthma Friendly School Recognition:  Recognized by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for providing excellent asthma management, reducing environmental triggers, and providing education and awareness for children.

Green School Certification:  Certified by the Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) as a Green School.

Cultural and Linguistic Competency Achievement: NASA GCDC has been recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) for our framework for advancing and sustaining our student’s cultural and linguistic competence.