INSTITUTE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD
National Louis University has an extensive history in early childhood education, starting with our founding in 1886 as a college to train women to teach young children in communities across Chicago. The vision of our founder, Elizabeth Harrison, resulted in the education of Chicago’s youngest citizens, the beginnings of the modern American kindergarten movement, and the establishment of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Today, our founder’s pioneering vision continues in NLU’s ongoing commitment to preparing new generations of early childhood educators and leaders to maximize the potential of young children and their families in Illinois. Every year, NLU serves more than 1,300 early childhood teachers and leaders, providing scalable solutions in credentials and degrees to expand the skills and knowledge of a diverse undergraduate and graduate student population. Through the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership, we annually reach 3,000 center administrators, family child care providers, school principals and more across Illinois and beyond, through a wide range of leadership academies, trainings and conferences, both in-person and online. The McCormick Center also conducts evaluations, assessments and professional learning on behalf of several public and private entities to ensure that early childhood programs continue to improve their quality in service of young children and their families. More recently, NLU has been tasked with helping the State of Illinois develop an online Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework for the early childhood workforce. This framework will enable learners to demonstrate their early childhood knowledge through prior education and/or professional experience, helping them to complete their credentials or degrees faster, advance in their careers, and secure higher compensation, while simultaneously elevating the quality of the early education programs in which they work.
12
Powered by FlippingBook