Owens Community College’s early childhood education program gains reaccreditation

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Owens Community College continues to make a name for itself by helping get more teachers into the classroom. The college earned seven-year reaccreditation for its Early Childhood Education Technology program.

Owens was the first institution in the state to receive the accreditation more than 20 years ago and remains one of only three institutions in Ohio to receive the designation.

Michelle Arbogast is the Director of Teacher Education and Human Services at OCC. He said it’s not just about what students do in the classroom that’s important, but how they learn to be well-rounded outside of the classroom is what makes the biggest difference.

“Being accredited gives us the validation that our program has known all along; that our students are prepared not only to be great teachers in the classroom, but also to be leaders and role models when they work with families, as well as community partners and resources,” Arbogast said.

Part of this process is embedding students directly in the community and connecting them with outside resources.

“You can be a great student, but you can’t be a great teacher. So it’s very important to have that versatility, to be able to talk to families, to be able to talk to parents and siblings about your child’s development, to be able to work with the community to provide resources for these kids,” Arbogast said.

Courtney Miller is a first-year student in the Early Childhood program at Owens. He said his dream was to have a positive impact on as many children as possible, and Owens helped him realize that dream.

“I always wanted to be a teacher. I absolutely love the kids I work with. It’s always ‘Miss Courtney! Miss Courtney! I can’t wait for you to become a teacher one day. You’ll be a great teacher!’ So it’s mostly the kids that lift me up and motivate me,” Miller said.

The YWCA of Northwest Ohio and Owens have a partnership that allows students in the YWCA program to transfer into the Owens Early Childhood Education program. Upon completion of CDA certification, students can earn up to five credit hours of college credit toward their Early Childhood Education associate degree.

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