DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET The Association for Early Learning Leaders (formerly known as the National Association of Child Care Professionals) www.earlylearningleaders.org The Association for Early Learning Leaders will “accredit school-age programs that are a component of a licensed program serving primarily preschool children provided that the majority of children in the school-age program are eight years old or younger.” Therefore, a free-standing school-age program would not qualify for the Association for Early Learning Leaders accreditation. Only school-age groups associ- ated with a preschool, with the same onsite director, and located at the same site with the same license can be accredited as part of the total organization by the Association for Early Learning Leaders. AfterSchool Program Assessment System (APAS) www.niost.org This system was developed by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST). This program assessment has two parts: the Survey of Afterschool Youth Outcomes (SAYO) and the Assessing After- school Program Practices Tool (APT). These tools can be used together or separately, depending on the specific needs of the program. This evaluation system is aimed at improving program quality and youth outcomes in school-age programs. The School-Age Care Environment Ratings Scale (SACERS) http://ers.fpg.unc.edu This rating scale was developed at University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. It is designed to assess before- and afterschool/group care programs for school-age children five to twelve years old. The total scale consists of forty-nine items, including six supplementary items for programs enrolling children with disabilities. The evaluation tool can be used to determine the program’s strengths and specific areas for improvement or the total program. This tool comes complete with definition of various terms as well as directions for the scoring of the tool. Program Parts Assessments Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) K–3 www.brookespublishing.com This assessment has two parts: an observation tool to gather information about five elements of the lit- eracy environment and a staff interview that supplements the observation with staff’s firsthand reflec- tions. This tool has been designed for programs that serve children in grades kindergarten through three. The information gained allows you to determine the effectiveness of your program environment, strengthen the quality of your program and teaching practices, and improve young children’s early liter- acy outcomes. The five key literacy elements are the following: 1. classroom structure 2. curriculum 272 • Appendix C COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL