After School Program at Rainbow Station Receives Top Accreditation

WASHINGTON, DC, February 17, 2011

The after school program at the Rainbow Station at Hanover was just awarded national accreditation from the Council on Accreditation. It was the first after school program in Virginia to receive this top recognition.

WHO:
The Rainbow Station at Hanover school (http://www.rainbowstation.org/loc-hanovervil/services/tv.html) is set on a 2.25 acre campus located at 8216 and 8218 Atlee Road in Mechanicsville, Va. and serves children aged 0-14. The academic offerings include extended day nursery school, preschool and Kindergarten as well as after school programs and summer camps. A unique feature of the facility is that if provides an on-site infirmary attended full-time by a pediatric nurse to provide parents with emergency back-up care. The "Get Well Place" is open to all children in the community regardless of whether or not they are enrolled in the school.

WHAT:
The after school program at the Rainbow Station at Hanover was just awarded national accreditation from the Council on Accreditation (COA).

The COA After School standards were developed in partnership with the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) and support quality in areas such as programming, continuous quality improvement, developing and maintaining healthy relationships, training and professional development, and staff supervision and support.

WHEN:
COA notified Rainbow Station at Hanover that it received accreditation January 31.

WHERE:
Rainbow Station at Hanover
8216 Atlee Road
Mechanicsville, VA 23116
(804) 730-0183
ataylor@rainbowstation.org

About COA and its After School Program [Jim Murphy] Recognition and Accreditation
COA's After School Program accreditation (http://www.coaafterschool.org/) is based on standards merged from the NAA's standards and COA's 8th Edition Standards. It includes three different sections of standards: After School Program Administration (ASP-AM), After School Human Resources (ASP-HR), and After School Programming and Services (ASP-PS). The Administration Standards cover practices related to continuous quality improvement, financial management, risk prevention and management, and ethical practice. The Human Resources Standards address recruitment and selection, training and professional development, support, and supervision. The Programming and Services Standards set forth additional recommended practices for working with children and youth in out of school time. Programs will complete all three sections of standards. Taken together, these standards represent a set of practices that support quality programming and promote positive outcomes for children and youth.

About Rainbow Station
Rainbow Station is headquartered in Richmond where it has six corporate schools with additional franchise schools located in Virginia, North Carolina and Texas for an overall total of nine campuses. Each Rainbow Station school serves children aged 0-14 and offers private nursery schools and pre-schools with extended day programming, after-school programs and academic-based summer camps. The two-to-five acre campuses include the highly unique feature of providing "The Get Well Place," an infirmary attended full-time by a pediatric nurse. The infirmary is located in a separate building and is equipped with a reverse ventilation system for children with infectious conditions such as Chicken Pox or the flu. Academically, each campus offers a specially constructed "Village," a recreation program based on freedom and choice for the school aged child where they attend curriculum-driven activities in the Apothecary, Arcade, Art Gallery, Cafe Rainbow, Club 5, Gymnasium, Theater, Toy Shoppe and the Village Green. Additional information on the campus is available on its website, http://www.rainbowstation.org