Research
Project in Virginia
I have been fortunate enough to be a part of research
concerning a Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) from its inception. The whole process has been very exciting
because I have also seen the results of participating in the QRIS in our
program in Williamsburg, Virginia. There
were several different committees working on each component for the rating
system. I actually helped to develop the
milestones for different age groups and activities connected with the
milestones. As one of the piloting
programs, I have seen the final product in action.
For our program I have seen some major improvements. When I became
Education/Disabilities Coordinator for our Head Start program, it was not a
very highly regarded program. Thanks, in
part, to our participation in the program, we have begun to have a huge waiting
list. My first year we were scrambling
to have our required 147 children enrolled.
For the past three years, I have been able to set a preliminary class
list before leaving for vacation.
Additionally, we have access to some other professional development
components. The most important of these
is a mentor for each of our sites. The
mentors are able to work with individual teachers at each site to increase
their skills. Because they work for
other programs, they are able to offer other resources for our program. The mentors also do workshops for our
program. Right now our emphasis revolves
around building vocabulary through open ended questions. It has been eye opening for the
teachers. When I go in to do
observations, I can see a difference in the way that they approach topics. Children are more actively engaged,
therefore, there are fewer behavior issues.
If your state does not yet have this system, I encourage
you to do so. If memory serves me
correctly, there are 14 states that do not have a Quality Rating program. You can see where your state stands in the
area of early childhood by visiting this site http://www.pewstates.org/research/analysis/proof-into-policy-pre-k-milestones-infographic-85899376577.
I actually thought that
Virginia was doing quite well until looking at this site. It is exciting to be on the ground floor of
this new incentive for improving education for young children in Virginia. It has also given me the opportunity to meet
others in the state interested in high quality education for young
children. I have met and worked with
college professors, business executives, pediatricians, government officials,
and other educators. Watching it unfold
has been truly remarkable!
References
Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew
Center on the States. (2012, March 16).
Proof into
Policy:
Pre-k Milestones [Infographic]. Retrieved from
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=31672
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=31672
Smart Beginnings. (2007). Milestones of Child Development.
Virginia Department of Social
Services
Child Care and Development Fund.
Retrieved from
Fascinating Carol! It does not surprise me at all that you are up to your elbows in your state's QRIS. I have really enjoyed your posts in this class and have found a lot of useful information through them. My attention really perked when I read that your areas emphasis is on open-ended questioning and teaching caregivers/teachers the vocabulary to assist them with this paradigm shift. I would welcome ANY information you are able to provide on the training you are providing for this. My research will begin with baseline data for our area and then I expect that to be followed up with PD intervention and post assessments. So it fits perfectly with what you are doing!
ReplyDeleteI am also up to my elbows in our state QRIS. I am an Quality Assessment Specialist; validating scores from the self-assessment survey and doing Program Quality Assessments (PQA)on all programs scoring 4 or 5 on the rating scale. It is certainly an exciting time to be in this field!
The STARS system is where provider's quality work is done, stored and available for parents to choose programs of high quality starting in December. (Though I won't be surprised it it is pushed back to allow more time to get all scores in the system. There is a huge backlog and only 13 of us in the state! Check it out at: http://greatstartforkids.org/content/great-start-quality
Carol,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post. I have not heard of the quality rating system. I googled this and learned that my state is one of the states does not use this quality rating system. Therefore, I plan to do more research on this subject.
Hi, this sounds like a interesting program. It sounds familiar with the system we utilized at our Child Development Center. We had the Program Administrative Scale we used. Working with First Steps, they had a TA come into our faciliity and helped us enhance our program through one of the key focus on the scale. In addition, our Teachers in the Infant and Toddler room, which was the focus at the time, worked with Early Literacy. The teachers and staff gain so much insight regarding introducing literacy to infants and toddlers. Other than books, they learned how to utilize puppets, stick puppets and so much more.
ReplyDeleteDivergent questions (open ended question) is a great focus to help children utilize the cognitive ability to think creatively and feel comfortable to ask and answer questions. Our ABC, child subsidy program highly observe this in all our classrooms to see that teachers ask open ended questions, especially through reading , learning and play.