Chicago, IL ( April 17, 2007 )- From Sunday, April 22, until Saturday, April 28, the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Catholic Schools will join school districts across the country in supporting and celebrating the National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC) Week of the Young Child.

"Early learning experiences are crucial to the growth and development of young children in our Catholic schools," said Dr. Nicholas Wolsonovich, Superintendent, Office of Catholic Schools. "With more than 14,000 preschoolers and kindergarteners in our schools, the Week of the Young Child allows us to recognize the importance of providing early learning opportunities and working to build better futures for our young children," Wolsonovich continued.

Registration for the 2007-08 school year in the Archdiocese's 217 elementary schools across Cook and Lake County is now taking place. One hundred percent of these schools have kindergarten programs and 91% have preschools.

Research demonstrates that children benefit from high-quality early childhood programs like those offered by Archdiocesan Catholic schools. All teachers are degreed and state certified, the curricula are aligned with Illinois state standards and learning environments meet nationally recognized criteria for high quality early childhood programs like those of the NAEYC.