eConnections

published by the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children

June 2008

Chittenden County Forum:
A Collaborative Effort with Positive Results

Ann Dillenbeck, Burlington Region Director, Building Bright Futures

Chittenden County’s early childhood community has been debating the answers to these and related questions:

  • What are the rewards and challenges of seeking NAEYC Accreditation under the new standards?
  • For programs which choose not to seek NAEYC Accreditation, are 4 or 5 STARS an equivalent indication of quality?
  • What do NAEYC Accreditation and STARS ratings mean to families of young children?

In recognition of the debate, over 20 Chittenden County early care and education providers and consultants came together in March to share their thoughts about quality recognition for center based programs. The forum, titled “How STARS and NAEYC Accreditation Serve our Center-Based Early Care and Education Programs and Our Community,” was jointly sponsored by VAEYC, Building Bright Futures of Chittenden County, and Child Care Resource.

Although participants discussed program-level decisions about pursuing quality recognition, the implications of these decisions for the community was the overriding theme. Chittenden’s Early Childhood Regional Plan, includes the following outcome and indicator:

Outcome: Children are ready for schools and schools are ready for children.
Indicator: Percent of children in child care programs who are enrolled in programs that are nationally accredited and/or have 4/5 STARS.

Turning the curve on this indicator requires a twofold effort: the development of sufficient quality early care and education capacity, and assurance of family access to those slots through affordability.  The March forum addressed the first component of this effort. How does the community support programs in seeking quality recognition as it pursues its goal of school readiness?

Participants generated action ideas in 4 categories: systems, education/public awareness, funding, and general support. Some examples are listed below:

Systems

Education/Public Awareness

Funding

General Support
Weight STARS Program Assessment arena more heavily to increase alignment with Accreditation As a national system, NAEYC Accreditation is widely recognized; STARS is not as well known. Parent brochure about STARS is currently under review Funding for technology (laptop, internet service, digital camera, printer, conference call number, etc.)

Shared administrative support

Shared studio space for generating documentation and program portfolios

Crosswalk Head Start Standards with STARS and NAEYC Accreditation

 

 Educate for profit and nonprofit programs about the incentives linked with quality recognition

 

 $ for substitutes

To develop regional advisory capacity: health consultants and playground inspectors		 Hold quality recognition support groups at conferences

 

Explore movement toward quality recognition for home providers (STARS and NAFCC) and after-school providers

Provide intentional professional development designed to help providers meet their goals under Qualifications and Training in STARS or the NAEYC’s Teachers Standard

Businesses help pay for Accreditation fees

 

Launch a message board for providers seeking quality recognition


The collaborative group which planned the forum is also meeting to identify next steps and a process for realizing the action ideas. An immediate follow-up will be to hold a similar community forum for family child care home providers. By drawing on community resources (the media, child care consultants, business partners, volunteers, the Internet, families, and early care and education providers themselves), we hope to increase the percentage of children in child care programs who are enrolled in programs that are nationally accredited and/or have 4/5 STARS and achieve positive outcomes for both the children and the community as a whole.

For complete March Community Forum notes and a participant list, please feel free to contact Ann Dillenbeck.

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