January 24, 2013

teachers

 

Unique Approach to Quality

California is one of 9 states to be awarded a highly competitive Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) federal grant to improve the quality of early learning programs and close the achievement gap for vulnerable young children. The grant calls for states to take a comprehensive, systemic approach to improving and rating the quality of child care, especially for children with high needs.

California is taking a unique approach that will allow county collaborations to develop and maintain control over their own quality improvement processes, while still allowing counties to coordinate efforts when feasible and share lessons learned. The end goal is that young children, particularly those who are low-income, English learners, or children with disabilities or developmental delays, have access to high quality early learning programs so that they thrive in early learning settings and succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

1st Steps to the Top

Alameda County is one of 16 California counties engaged in the design of a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) with support from the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant. Five Bay Area counties, including Alameda, have formed a partnership to coordinate and align a regional approach to the QRIS. The first regional partnership meeting was held December 19, kicking off an intensive period that will include recruiting the first round of early care and education sites interested in joining the QRIS, and coordinating quality improvement for programs and sharing information with parents about child care quality. We are excited at First 5 about the opportunity to build a system to improve the quality of early care and education programs throughout the county.

Get Involved

For more information and how to get involved in these regional planning efforts in Alameda County, please check out the Race to the Top Fact Sheet or contact Mary Anne Doan, First 5 QRIS administrator.

.