Mission

Mission

• The New York State Association for the Education of Young Children’s mission is to promote excellence in early care and education for New York State children and families through education, advocacy and the support of the profession.

Vision

• All children in New York State have access to high quality early care and education programs with sufficient resources to meet children’s physical, educational, and social/emotional needs in environments that support diversity.
• All individuals working in the early care and education profession are well educated, receive equitable compensation, and support in their continuing professional development.
• All New York State families have access to affordable, high quality early care and education programs in which they actively participate.

Values

• High quality early care and education for children’s development through early childhood (birth to age eight);
• A highly effective organizational structure which includes a strong network of local affiliates;
• The contribution, participation and collaboration of people from diverse backgrounds on issues critical to children and families;
• Diverse perspectives and the unique needs of children, families, professionals and communities;
• An effective, high quality early childhood professional development system.
• Policies that advance the best practices for all children and families.

Values Statements

• Maintaining a strong organizational structure to provide leadership, coordination and services to the local affiliates and to the general public;
• Supporting the development of a strong network of local affiliates to provide leadership and professional growth opportunities at the community and state levels;
• Advancing public knowledge about the critical importance of early care and education through the dissemination of research findings and information on evidenced-based best practices;
• Building commitment, involvement and enthusiasm of constituents by providing opportunities for participation, contribution, collaboration and resources on critical issues;
• Supporting development of individuals’ professional competence and attitudes to meet or exceed the current standard in the early care and education field and;
• Incorporating diverse perspectives and needs of individuals when designing or developing programs and services that support efforts to improve all early care and education programs regardless of sponsorship, funding or structure.