What Is QUALITYstarsNY?

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About QUALITYstarsNY:

QUALITYstarsNY is New York State’s proposed Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS). QUALITYstarsNY is designed to improve the quality of all early care and learning programs. All licensed programs are eligible to participate in this voluntary rating system, whether they are located in nursery schools, child care centers, Head Start, public schools, or private homes. Each participating program receives a star rating (of 1 to 5) that indicates the quality of the program, as well as support and consultation to assist with improvement of the program.

QUALITYstarsNY will provide a coherent, systematic way to support program improvement and ensure the best use of public dollars in all early childhood programs. It will establish standards of program excellence by providing a research-based tool for assessing the quality of early childhood programs and will create a comprehensive strategy for aligning the quality of programs with the investment of public resources.

A QRIS provides a roadmap for provider improvement and an accountability measure for progress and funding. It simultaneously supports parents in becoming better educated consumers of early childhood services by providing them with new tools and information. The essential elements to a QRIS are technical assistance and funding targeted to both specific quality improvement and to incentive grants to support programs in meeting higher quality standards.


QRIS Resources:

Quality Matters: HIGH-QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION CAN CUT CRIME IN NEW YORK. A report by FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS New York. Early care and education programs help kids get the right start in life and avoid future crime, but programs must be high quality to make this difference in kids’ lives. April 2011. download press release.

A Statewide System to Support Effective Implementation of QUALITYstarsNY: Roles for CCR&R Agencies. Early Care & Learning Council white paper. December 2010.

Statewide Partnership Model for QUALITYstarsNY: A CCR&R Proposal. Early Care & Learning Council PowerPoint. February 2011.

Three fact sheets for the QUALITYstarsNY Campaign:
Stakeholders      Parents      Professionals

A field test of QUALITYstarsNY is currently being conducted and will provide data to guide decisions necessary for statewide implementation of QUALITYstarsNY. Visit www.qualitystarsny.org for more information.

QUALITYstarsNY PILOT IN BUFFALO, Child Care Today Newsletter of the Child Care Resource Network, Volume 910, Issue 2, Winter 2010.

Features of Professional Development and On-site Assistance in Child Care Quality Rating Improvement Systems, A Survey of State-wide Systems
This October 2010 report from the National Center for Children in Poverty presents findings from an interview study that investigated features of the professional development and on-site assistance available to center-based staff and home-based providers who participate in states’ Quality Rating Improvement Systems. See the report and additional QRIS resources on the NCCP website.

Podcast: States Share Information on Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
Early Ed Watch (July 12, 2010) By Lisa Guernsey - Over the past several years, states across the country have been creating Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to rank the quality of early learning programs, whether child care centers or preschools, and provide coaching to teachers and administrators to help improve them.  Now, as states realize the technical questions and hurdles that must be overcome in designing these systems, many of them are coming together to learn from each other in an online resource called the QRIS National Learning Network. 

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for Early Care and Education
Child Trends, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1, MAY 10, 2010 - Research suggests that high quality early care and education programs can have a significant impact on improving the cognitive, academic and social skills of all children, specially those most at risk for later school failure. A number of states are developing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to assess and improve the quality of early care and education programs for children ages birth to five and older. Download the policy brief here.

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment
Compendium of Quality Rating Systems and Evaluations
Mathematica and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), April 2010 - Quality Rating Systems (QRS) are currently operating, under development or being piloted in over 25 states or local areas. As the QRS model becomes integrated into the landscape of child care and education service delivery, policy and the decisions parents make about child care across the United States, there is an increasing need for descriptive and comparative information about QRS implementation and evaluation. Acknowledging this need, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is supporting a project called the Child Care Quality Rating System Assessment (QRS Assessment). Download the 251-page report here.

Press:

Sheriff to Lawmakers: Fight Crime with Better Pre-K Programs
Public News Service (January 24, 2012) - ALBANY, N. Y. - Lawmakers at a joint hearing on education spending in the 2012-13 Executive Budget heard from a county sheriff Monday who urged them to add funding to a program that helps parents find the best pre-kindergarten programs for their toddlers. -see story

QRIS Costs and Constraints
Education Week (December 12, 2011) By Sara Mead - I've been writing this week about some of my concerns about the Early Learning Challenge program, many of which I laid out in this article. But there's one big concern I wasn't able to talk about due to space considerations--the fear that the Quality Rating and Improvement Systems that the program requires states to establish might not only fail to improve child learning outcomes, but actually impede the creation of high-quality programs. -see story

Early childhood center rating system is part of fed grant proposal
NorthJersey.com (October 19, 2011) By Leslie Brody, staff writer - New Jersey aims to publicize Consumer Reports-style ratings of early childhood centers as part of its proposal to win $60 million in federal education grants, officials said Tuesday. -see story

Georgia launching rating system for childcare centers
ajc.com/Atlanta Journal-Constitution (October 14, 2011 ) By Nancy Badertscher - Georgia parents will soon be able to look for a state rating on childcare centers, based on everything from the food they serve to the training their workers receive. -see story

A Five-Star Plan for Preschool, Child Care
public news service (January 24, 2011) NEW YORK - Movie-lovers look for a four-star review by a film critic. Gourmets search for five-star restaurants. Soon, parents seeking a good preschool or child-care center may have a similar quality-rating system. -see story

Raise program to stellar status
timesunion.com (October 25, 2010) Letter to the Editor by Marsha Basloe and Kate Breslin - As new leaders of statewide organizations dedicated to increasing the quality of care and education for children from the prenatal period to age 8, we found it refreshing to see Ron Haskins' and Steve Barnett's Oct. 13 viewpoint, "Scrutiny for Head Start." -see letter

Good education must start early
timesunion.com (October 19, 2010) Letter to the Editor by James Campbell, Albany County Sheriff - The Oct. 13 viewpoint, "Scrutiny for Head Start," strikes an important cautionary note for New York. We need to make sure early education programs for our youngest children prepare them well for school.
-see letter

QualityStarsNY plan to rate early childhood sites would help kids and their parents
Syracuse Post-Standard (October 4, 2010) By Editorial Board - Whether you’re looking for a five-star hotel, a four-star restaurant or a “thumbs up” Saturday night movie, there’s no shortage of reviews that rate their quality. But if you’re shopping for a preschool or daycare for your child, you’re on your own. More likely than not, you’d rely on a word-of-mouth recommendation from a neighbor or friend. -see opinion

Campaign Launch News:

On January 27th, three QUALITYstarsNY field test sites held press events to officially launch Winning Beginning NY and Citizen Action’s campaign around implementing the initiative. The two organizations called on Governor Cuomo and the NYS Legislature to invest in high-quality early education by making a commitment to continue QUALITYstarsNY beyond the 13-community field test.

Launch media coverage:

Will budget cuts put early learning at risk?
The formative years are viewed as critical to academic success; advocates decry possible cuts,
Times Union By Scott Waldman, January 31, 2011.

Supporting Quality Early Education, WBNG News / Binghamton, January 27, 2011.

Advocates call for quality early education while public schools may be forced to cut, WRGB/CBS 6, January 27, 2011.

YouTube video of Bethlehem campaign launch with Patricia Skinner, Executive Director, Capital District Child Care Coordinating Council, January 27, 2011.

Calls for early education rating system, YNN Albany, January 27, 2011.

Preschool rating system launched, WNYT News Albany, January 27, 2011

A Five-Star Plan for Preschool, Child Care, Public News Service, January 24, 2011.

See launch photos here.