The Early Language and Literacy Initiative (ELLI) program at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk has received accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Rhonda Kiest, president and CEO of the museum, said, “It is an incredible accomplishment to have our program recognized by NAEYC. Now we want to broaden the scope of ELLI to reach even younger children in order to close the achievement gap in Connecticut.”
ELLI is the joint collaboration of Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk Public Schools and Literacy How, an organization dedicated to the application of early literacy research.
There are currently four ELLI classroom sites in Norwalk that have been accredited by NAEYC. In addition to the ELLI Lab School at Stepping Stones Museum for Children, the ELLI classrooms at the Fox Run, Tracey and Naramake elementary schools in Norwalk earned the accreditation. Less than 10 percent of all child care centers, preschools and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.
