Presentation to the Blue Ribbon Commission December 17, 2016.

The Vermont STep Ahead Recognition

System(STARS) Presentation to the Blue Ribbon Commission

December 17, 2016

What is STARS?

• STARS is Vermont’s quality recognition system for child care, preschool, and afterschool programs. Programs that participate in STARS are stepping ahead — going above and beyond state regulations to provide professional services that meet the needs of children and families.

• Registered and licensed family child care homes, licensed early childhood, preschool, Head Start, afterschool, and non-recurring care programs all can, and do, participate in STARS.

• Research has informed the development of STARS and continues to inform implementation.

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation

Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC). 2015. Washington D.C.:THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

How does STARS connect with Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan?

Result #3: All children and families have access to high quality opportunities that meet their needs (p.20 Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan, March 2014)

Guiding Principle: Early Childhood settings for children 0-5 meet high program standards (p.7 Vermont’s Early Childhood Framework)

Applying for STARS:

1. Providers select and submit the application for the type of program they manage:

Early childhood program, Family child care program, Afterschool program, or NAEYC-Accredited program.

No application fee is required. 2. Programs must have had a licensing compliance visit within two years from the date of application. The STARS coordinator notifies CDD licensers as needed. STARS coordinators also connect program assessors with programs as needed/requested.

The Five STARS “Arenas of Action”• Staff qualifications

• Families and communities

• Program practices

• Regulatory history

• Program administration

Teaching Staff Qualifications and Annual Professional Development

Arena

Analysis of several studies found that the effects on child outcomes for teachers with a Bachelor’s degree with specialized training in early childhood education and child development were significantly greater than for teachers with less education.

NIEER Working Paper-The Impact of Teacher Education on Outcomes in Center-Based Early Childhood Education Programs: A Meta-analysis, Pamela Kelley and Gregory Camilli (2007)

Families and Communities ArenaChildren, Families and Providers are all a part of the culture of learning. Programs that integrate positive engaging relationships with families and the communities are valuing the importance of parents and community as partners to support high quality early care and education which results in optimal child development.

QRIS National Learning Network-Center For The Study of Social Policy’s Strengthening Families Protective and Promotive Factors

Program Practices Arena (up to 5 pts) Nationally recognized and validated Environment Rating Scale (ERS) and Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) are used to assess the quality of the environment and daily practices of the program including teacher child interactions. Teaching Strategies Gold (TS Gold) is the primary child observation tool and used in STARS to inform curriculum.

The relationship with teachers, learning activities and classroom environment has a significant impact on a child’s development.

“Measures of Classroom Quality in Pre-Kindergarten and Children’s Development of Academic, Language and Social Skills,” University of Virginia, Mashburn, Andrew J, and Pianta, Robert C., May 2008.

Regulatory History ArenaBeing in regulatory compliance is required to enter STARS. This means that the program is in compliance with all DCF/CDD regulations, a DCF licenser has conducted an onsite inspection within the last two years and any substantiated violations have been corrected. The Regulatory History Arena recognizes regulatory compliance over time.

Environment Rating Scale (ERS)scores tend to improve over the first few years of a program’s operation. Maintaining compliance without serious violations is critical to maintaining the highest point level in this arena of STARS.

Administration Arena

A high quality program has effective and solid management practices, leadership, and is financial sound. Research reveals that specific aspects of program leadership, management, and administration are correlated with quality environments and child outcomes.

Caruso, J.J. & Fawcett M.T. (1999) “Supervision in early childhood education: A developmental perspective (2nd ed) New York: Teachers College Press

Points are totaled across all five arenas to determine the star level the program has achieved. The more stars a program has, the more it is involved in a wide range of practices that support children, families, and professionals.

One-star programs (1 - 4 points) are examining their practices to enhance the services they provide. They may be fairly new, just starting on a path of improvement and growth, or be stronger in one area.

Two-star programs (5 - 8 points) are making a commitment to strengthen their practices. They may have made some progress in many areas or more progress in one or two areas.

Three-star programs (9 - 11 points) have made improvements and are working to reach specific goals. They have either made substantial progress in two or three areas or have made some improvements across all five areas.

Four-star programs (12 - 14 points) are established programs that have met several standards of quality in all five areas. Many four-star programs are also nationally accredited.

Five-star programs (15 - 17 points) are outstanding in all five areas. Many five-star programs are also nationally accredited.

Licensed and Registered 1 Star 237 16.16%





Licensed and Registered Not Rated 368 25.09%

Licensed and Registered Rated (All) 1099 74.91%

TOTALS 1467

Source: Vermont Bright Futures Information SystemDecember 14, 2015

Brenda Schramm Former Family Child Care Provider, VB5 representative on the STARS Oversight Committee

STARS and the Family Child Care Provider

It's not a hotel rating

Working your way up the levels in STARS = program quality improvements and more opportunities

STARS and Mentoring

It is what I have provided the most mentoring for over the past few years

Once a mentee has buy in, and joins, the possibilities are endless for them

Sonja Raymond Director/Owner Licensed Child Care

Have been a licensed provider for 15 years

Have participated in STARS since its inception

VT STARS is a robust QRIS system, I was able to use it as a lever to help me make the improvement necessary to pursue NAEYC Accreditation

As a mentor and coordinator for VAEYC's Quality Improvement Project I work with many programs around quality improvement

STARS is a comprehensive tool and guide for incremental program improvement and is a tool for me in my work

Parents have become savvy consumers. They are looking for programs who participate in STARS

Tierney O’Meara Parent perspective

All parents’ value their child’s education; STARS is a tool and resource for families to help choose quality child care and early learning opportunities, in order for their children to reach their full potential. STARS empower parents to make well informed decisions about the quality of care and education for their children. STARS offers child care providers a higher reimbursement rate based on the number of STARS earned, potentially decreasing a families co-pay/and or cost of child care.

While higher STAR levels indicate a high quality program, all STAR levels are a sign that a program has made a commitment to the overall importance of early learning and development. Research has shown that the early years in a child’s life, when the human brain is forming; represent a critically important window of opportunity to develop a child’s full potential. It is the quality of the nurturing relationships and stimulating rich learning environment that parents value in a high quality early childhood experience. It is the healthy promotion of social and emotional skills and the path to a broader measure of health and well-being that are the meaningful moments of opportunities that children will carry with them well into their later years in life.

As a single parent and head of household for two young children, I rely on high quality early childhood and afterschool care so that I can go to work every day and provide for myself and my family. It is the comfort to know that my children are safe, happy, have consistent and caring relationships with their caregivers who are educated in early learning and development, and that they are engaged in activities that promote healthy social and emotion development that make our lives possible. I not only work this life, but live it on a daily basis and share many of the struggles that challenge Vermont families. The early childhood and afterschool programs are an extension of my family and are not a “nice” to have, but a “must have.” I am deeply passionate and devoted to strengthening and supporting Vermont’s QRIS system.

Tierney O’Meara STARS Coordinator

STARS is a Framework which support programs working through manageable steps within key arenas to achieve quality levels.

The STARS Coordinator’s job is to monitor how well programs meet the quality standards in each arena, verify ongoing compliance, manage data, as well as support providers through technical assistance, and trainings. Coordinators work on effective collaboration with other statewide agencies, community, and private partners.

STARS coordinators attend the annual National QRIS conference to stay current on national trends, issues, topics, and research. Ultimately, to improve the functioning of STARS as a system to effectively evaluate quality and build strong foundations for Vermont’s youngest children and their families.

More information on STARS is on the CDD Website

http://dcf.vermont.gov/childcare/parents/stars and

http://dcf.vermont.gov/childcare/providers/stars

STARS presenters

Jan Walker [email protected]

(802) 769-6426 or (800) 649-2642Brenda Schramm

[email protected] Raymond

[email protected] O’Meara

[email protected] or [email protected]



mailto:[email protected]




Presentation to the Blue Ribbon Commission December 17, 2016.

Documents

Transcript of Presentation to the Blue Ribbon Commission December 17, 2016.