Quality Start Riverside County support continues to be provided to all early learning programs, such as, California State Preschool Programs, Head Start, Migrant Head Start, Private Center-based, Family Child Care Homes, and licensed exempt. The quality support includes opportunities to participate in
- Early learning coaching and mentoring
- Early learning trainings
- Communities of Practice
- Technical assistance on quality improvements
For more information, please email [email protected] or [email protected]. Thank you for your commitment to quality and all you do to support the children and families in Riverside County!
HOW DOES QUALITY START RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPPORT QUALITY?
Quality Start is based on Quality Counts California, which sets common standards for early learning programs. All participating programs receive quality supports and set quality improvement goals based upon these standards. California State Preschool Programs are formally assessed and rated on these standards. Here are the seven areas of quality that Quality Start supports:
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CHILD OBSERVATION
How a program uses assessments to better understand the learning needs of its children and then plans appropriate learning experiences.
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HEALTH AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Whether the program ensures that all children receive annual health and developmental screenings, and provides referrals for follow up if necessary.
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TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
The teacher or family child care provider’s formal education in a field related to early learning, as well as ongoing professional development activities. The highest rating is awarded for bachelor’s degrees and higher.
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POSITIVE TEACHER-CHILD INTERACTIONS
The teacher or provider’s emotional support, instructional support, and classroom organization. Rated programs receive the CLASS assessment. The CLASS assessment is conducted by a trained, independent assessor.
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NUMBER OF CHILDREN PER TEACHER
The ratio of adults to children, as well as the total number of children in the classroom. Family child care programs don’t receive this rating.
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ENVIRONMENT
Looks at the health and safety, materials, classroom, and class schedule. Rated programs are assessed using the Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) assessment. The ERS assessment is conducted by a trained, independent assessor.
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DIRECTOR TRAINING AND EDUCATION
The program director’s formal education in a field related to early learning, as well as ongoing professional development activities. The highest rating is awarded for master’s degrees and higher. Family child care programs don’t receive this rating.
“It’s an amazing opportunity”
“It’s an amazing opportunity to have encouragement and support while increasing the quality of our program. It’s awesome that no matter where the provider is on the scale there’s an opportunity to participate and to grow…. Everyone who desires to do better and be better can participate. I am thrilled.”
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