Day Nursery Indianapolis names new President & CEO

Ted Maple, Ph.D.

Indianapolis – The  board of directors of Day Nursery Association of Indianapolis, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Ted Maple, Ph.D. as the President and CEO. He will succeed Carolyn M. Dederer who will retire August 2 after 15 years with the organization.

Maple comes to Day Nursery from United Way of Central Indiana where he led United Way’s education priority with a focus on early childhood and school-age initiatives.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Indianapolis, a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Butler University and his Ph.D., in, Early Childhood Education from Ball State University.

Carolyn Dederer welcomed Dr. Ted Maple to his new office at Day Nursery this morning. They will work together for three weeks until Carolyn officially retires on August 2.

He began his career in education as a kindergarten and first grade teacher in Pike Township. Following his time in the public schools, he served as Director of the Early Childhood Program at St. Mary’s Child Center where he led the nationally-accredited early childhood program for 200 at-risk preschoolers at two locations in Indianapolis. In 2005, Maple’s career in early childhood took a different turn, when he was selected as United Way’s Director of Success By 6. In this role, over more than eight years, he crafted United Way’s early childhood agenda that included programs, policy advocacy and community engagement. In 2012, he was promoted to Director of Education to oversee United Way’s two education priorities: children entering school ready to learn, and performing on grade level by sixth grade.

He lives with his wife and three children on the northeast side of Indianapolis.

ABOUT DAY NURSERY:
Day Nursery Association is the oldest and largest non-profit provider of early care and education in central Indiana. Founded in 1899, the agency has been educating the youngest children of Indianapolis for over 100 years. Serving more than 1,350 children annually ages six weeks to six years old in 7 locations in Marion and Hendricks County, Day Nursery believes that all children, regardless of a family’s income, should have access to the highest quality of care. Day Nursery is a United Way agency.

Week of the Young Child: Day Nursery IU Health Center

During Week of the Young Child which wrapped up Friday, Mr. Seth,  teacher in the Toddler 1 class at the Day Nursery IU Health Center, put on a musical concert featuring familiar favorites as well as original songs for children.   As you can see, it was a rockin’ success!

Day Nursery Federal Center preschoolers enjoy Indy St. Paddy’s Day parade

They marched with the bands, held their ears when the fire trucks blasted their sirens, waved to Ronald McDonald and whirled in delight at the sound of the bagpipes.

Having a front row seat for the Indianapolis St. Patrick’s Day parade is just one of the benefits of attending preschool downtown at the Day Nursery Federal Center.  Give them a call and enroll your child now and we can guarantee you a great seat for next year’s parade! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Friday Faces: Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Center

Exploring the textures of paint and bubble wrap

Day Nursery Indianapolis celebrates Week of the Young Child

All 7 of our Day Nursery locations are taking part in the national celebration of the Week of the Young Child.  We will wrap up the week with 143 of our teachers attending the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Childrenconference at the Indiana Convention Center on Saturday.

In most centers teachers set out special activities in the hallway outside their rooms for parents to do with their children at pick up time. It’s our version of “stopping to smell the roses”—spending a few quality moments in a learning activity with your child–nothing better than that.

Parent and child activity at the Federal Center

Day Nursery Federal Center students learn about the US Mail

Ms. Kesha’s Preschool 1 classroom at the Day Nursery Federal Center has been learning about the US Mail this week.  They wrote letters to the person of their choice…mostly mommys and daddys, but also siblings that don’t live at their house with them.  The class rode in the wagon today to mail them at the post office a block away from the center.

 

Two Day Nursery centers among best in nation

Day Nursery Federal Center 575 N. Pennsylvania

Two Day Nursery Early Care and Education Centers have once again earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) – the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals. 

“We’re proud to have again earned the mark of quality from NAEYC at these two centers, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards,” said Carolyn Dederer, Executive Director of the Day Nursery Association of Indianapolis. “I am very proud of our staff at the Day Nursery Start Smart 4 Children at Ft. Harrison and the Day Nursery Federal Center in downtown Indianapolis for achieving this goal. “NAEYC Accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible.” Day Nursery has been educating the youngest children in Indianapolis for over 110 years. 

Day Nursery at Ft. Harrison, 5545 Herbert Lord Road

To earn NAEYC Accreditation, these two Day Nursery locations went through an extensive Self-Study process, measuring the program and its services against the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related Accreditation Criteria.  The program received NAEYC Accreditation after a site visit by NAEYC Assessors to ensure that the program meets each of the ten program standards.  NAEYC-accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their accreditation, which lasts for five years.

In the 23 years since NAEYC Accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education.  Almost 8,000 programs, serving one million young children, are currently accredited by NAEYC – approximately 8 percent of all preschools and other early childhood programs.  “The NAEYC Accreditation system raises the bar for preschools, child care centers and other early childhood programs,” said Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director of NAEYC.  “Day Nursery’s NAEYC Accreditation is a sign that they are a leader in a national effort to invest in high-quality early childhood education, and to help give all children a better start.”

The NAEYC Accreditation system has set voluntary professional standards for programs for young children since 1985.  The NAEYC Accreditation system was created to set professional standards for early childhood education, and to help families identify high-quality preschools, child care centers and other early education programs.  To earn NAEYC Accreditation, a program must meet each of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards.  Programs are accredited by NAEYC for a five-year period.

Currently six of the seven Day Nursery Centers are NAEYC accredited.  The Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Center is currently going through the process of working toward its accreditation status.

To learn more about what NAEYC Accreditation is, why it matters, and what parents can expect to see at an NAEYC-Accredited program visit www.rightchoiceforkids.org.

Teaching good habits

Last month, our favorite UPS driver wheeled a big box of toothbrushes into the Day Nursery administrative office.  Was someone trying to tell us something? It turns out they were going to be distributed to the children in our seven centers so each location could illustrate the importance of regular dental hygiene.  Because we are NAEYC accredited centers, we follow standards that are best for young children. NAEYC has created 10 standards that measure the quality of early childhood programs. The standards were created by a blue-ribbon panel of early childhood experts and are based on the latest early childhood research. Patty Fisher, Day Nursery’s Director of Center of Administration explained to me that being a NAEYC accredited center means more than just having a great academic program.  Our centers meet high standards for providing a safe and healthy physical enviroment. NAEYC Standard 5 deals with health and says at least once daily in a program where children older than one year receive two or more meals, teaching staff provide an opportunity for tooth brushing and gum cleaning to remove food and plaque. Because many children under 6 have not mastered the art of brushing (and spitting!) the children do not use toothpaste when they brush at Day Nursery. Day Nursery Federal Center preschool teacher Diane Taylor said her students can’t wait to brush their teeth after lunch…they all want to go first. They all enjoy watching themselves in the mirror. Many classrooms brush teeth after lunch, but it is up to the individual classroom teacher to schedule it when it fits best into the classroom schedule. Thanks to Federal Center Director Sarah Parks for sharing this photo of D’Shon brushing his teeth in Ms. Taylor’s class.