No Pressure, but…Their Future is in Your Hands: Why Quality Matters
Reach for the Stars! Go for the Gold! Step Up To Quality! Every state has their own slogan to encourage child care providers to increase the quality of their services to children and families. Why does quality matter? Don’t the regulations take care of that?
Why does quality matter?
In two words: Brain Development. Because of brain research, we now know that the first 5 years of a child’s life are the most critical for brain development. The. Most. Critical. What a child experiences in their first five years can determine their future. It can make or break them. Studies repeatedly show that children who have high-quality early care and education are more likely to:
Graduate from high school
Go to college
Earn more money
Be in a committed relationship
And where are millions of children spending their days during their first 5 years? In child care facilities, preschools, or other type of group care while parents work. No pressure, but as an early childhood professional, this puts many children’s futures squarely in your hands.
Children spend more of their waking hours with you than they do with their family. You are in a position to give these children the absolute best crack at life. Therefore, the level of quality you provide matters.
Don’t the regulations take care of that?
Regulations are designed to ensure that all children receive a minimum level of care that focuses on health and safety. It’s what you could call ‘good enough.’ Regulations do not require the highest levels of quality available to providers, but states understand the importance of quality which leads us to Quality Rating and Improvement Systems or QRIS.
What is your state’s QRIS system? In New Mexico, for example, it is a star rating with 5 stars being the top. You can either work your way to the top with the help of the state, or you can bypass the state and become nationally accredited to automatically reach 5 stars. Just meeting the state regulations starts you out at the 2-star level.
What’s in it for me?
Have you heard the saying, “You have to spend money to make money?” This is true in our world as child care providers. Quality costs money. Most states recognize this by providing financial incentives for raising your level of excellence. These incentives are designed to offset the costs of raising your quality. Additionally, parents seek out programs with the highest quality rating. And when you are excellent, you become the talk of the town resulting in higher enrollment, and in some cases waiting lists.
Developing systems for continuous improvement and consistent quality reduces your costs over time. That’s where I come in.
I have extensive experience with, and understanding of, excellence in early care and education settings. I understand how to set up systems to help programs maintain excellence and continuously improve their practices. After teaching the National Administrator Credential (NAC) class for several years, I have heard providers’ frustrations with state-level QRIS programs. Ironically, the biggest complaint was centered around consistency – or lack of consistency- amongst the state-provided coaches leading programs to quality.
If you have taken the NAC, you know that it touches on several different areas of your business – not just classrooms. The same is true for quality – it has to touch every area of your business, and it starts at the top. If your leadership does not see the value in early childhood excellence, neither will the rest of your staff. So, as a leader, you hold the power. Let me help you create an excellent program that stands out above your competitors.