Module
3 - Interacting with Professionals/Administrators about Improving Quality Care
for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.
For this assignment I meet with the Program Director
at Busy Bee Learning Center and the Assistant Director at my place of employment.
In meeting with these professionals,
they informed me of their goals on addressing the issue of improving quality
care. The Director at Busy Bee informed
me that their program is in the process of submitting an application to the
Quality Rating System(QRS), which is a program designed to improve the quality
of care by looking at several quality indicators.
When speaking with the assistant director at my
place of employment, she mentioned our goal for completing QRS was to improve
the quality of care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. She also informed me of the changes that are
being made to QRS in efforts to ensure that all children have access to quality
care.
When I spoke with my host teacher, she mentioned
that many professional are starting to look at how children are being educated. She feels this is one reasons why the
Illinois learning standards are being
revised to common core standards. She also mentioned Race for the Top - Early Learning
Challenge (RTT-ELC). She said, RTT-ELC is a grant to help programs improve the
quality of learning and development for all children.
Based on my conversations with these professionals,
there seems to be an increase in the number of programs that are trying to
improve the quality of care for young children. Programs are starting to
address this issue in different ways.
Some programs are striving for NAEYC accreditation, while
others are working towards QRS. When
researching RTT-ELC, I found that the goal of this program is to provide funding
to help raise the bar and improve student achievement (IBSE, 2013).
As I continue with my advocacy efforts, I think it
is going to be extremely important that I network and stay connected with other
professionals who are working towards the goal of improving quality care for
infants, toddlers and preschoolers. As
cited by (Kieff, 2009, p. 139), networking
is an important tool for advocacy because it enables professionals to connect
with people who have ideas, information, or power. Through networking, I can find people who can
help me develop and implement my advocacy agenda.
When address my advocacy issues in my setting, I think
it's important to respect the fact that many of my co-workers may not be as
excited about improving quality care, because it requires work. I feel many of my coworkers have become
comfortable, especially those who have been teaching for many years. But for
me, I am excited about finding a more efficient way to teach young
children. I am passionate about
improving quality care, because I know that it truly makes a difference in the
lives of children and families.
As an Early Childhood Professional, I am constantly
looking for ways to improve my work with young children. I have started to
become more involved by taking part in an advisory committee. This committee meets monthly and we discuss
changes that are needed to assist programs in improving the quality of care for
all children. We talk to other programs
and child care providers to find out what their needs are and how we can help
them improve care for young children.
The issues that I here most often relates to training and funding.
I my setting I would like to see more staff members
eager and excited about improving the work that they do with children. In my community, I would like for state and local
officials to understand that providing quality care cost money and they need to
help programs and teachers find ways to pay for the training and changes that
need to be made in order to improve the quality of care for infants, toddlers,
and preschoolers.
References
Illinois State Board of Education (2013). Illinois
Race to the top. Retrieved from http://www.isbe.state.il.us/racetothetop/default.htm
Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and
education. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
Vertina I think it's a very good ideal that you avail yourself of the many resources avaiable. We have a Director's support group that meets every month in an effort to discuss some of the very same issues you mention. Centers are in need of staff who are qualified and have not just the credentials but th ability and patience to work with children. Vertina child care has become an essential component of life in our society. Quality child care can make a significant difference in a child's development. For many years researchers have been examining the aspects of child care that have a positive influence on children's development. Good staffing ratios are an essential ingredient in quality child care settings. There must be a sufficient number of adults for the number of children. Quality child care programs can provide a wealth of comprehensive services which contribute to the overall welfare of the children and their families. Children who have established positive relationships with their child care provider will exhibit happiness and comfort in the child care setting, which can be one of the best indicators of a quality program.
ReplyDeleteQuality child care has the capability of promoting trust, autonomy, and a true sense of happiness and well being in children. It can lead to positive social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development. Quality child care needs to be a high priority in our nation and be supported by all in our society. Society needs to increase its investments in child care staff and ensure adequate financing and support child care. In that way we will be investing in the future of our children.
Hello Katrina,
DeleteYou pointed out several reasons why quality care is so critical. I would be interested in hearing more about the directors support group. Where are you located?
Vertina- this is my third time trying to make this post, hopefully it works this time. I really enjoyed reading your post and I feel that quality child care is very important and something that should be discussed more and should have more attention. I agree with you and think that it is very important to network with others in the field so that you can stay up to date and get their input regarding quality care. I have been through the QRS process and I know that it is a very hard process to go through and it can be very nerve racking for the teachers. They go through your program and classroom with a fine tooth comb, which I feel is neccessary to ensure that you do have a qualtiy progrm. The best thing of all is that the center gets a raise in their funding, depending on what star level you have, what a great incentive.
ReplyDeleteQRS is a very detailed observation. When our program first went through the process four years ago, we were very discouraged, but later realized that it was not about us; it's all about the children. I believe one of the reasons why a small financial increase is given, is due to the cost involved with quality care. It cost money to ensure that programs are meeting high quality standards such as hiring and retaining quality teachers that are properly trained, providing curriculum that is developmentally appropriate, and creating classroom environments that are designed with children in mind.
DeleteVertina,
ReplyDeleteI think that improving quaility care is the most important issue. Reading is very important for young children to do they will use this skill for the rest of their life. So when they are not very good a it or they really don't understand how to read. The teachers need to step up and help the child or get them extra help. I think that the standards needs to be up-to-date because they want the teachers to have training so they understand all of the standards. I agree that quality care is important for every school or daycare. Children need to start learning when they are very young. So when it moves over to common core standards the teachers will need to be better trained on the standards.
Thanks,
Teresa Smith
Hello,
DeleteYes reading is very important, but in our efforts to enhance reading, we must not force skills on children until they are ready. When we fail to provide developmentally appropriate curriculum we actually do more harm then good.
Hello Teresalynn,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct in stating that children need to start learning when they are very young. What children receive or fail to receive will impact later school success. If we want children to have a quality education, we must have quality programs.
I couldn't agree more....
DeleteI'm not surprised to hear that staff mambers aren't excited about going the extra step to improve care. Ive seen is first hand at the school I work for. There are a couple teachers that have been there a long time and are pretty much set in their ways. They don't feel the need to attend extra in-service trainings. But I strongly disagree with that. I feel that it is extremely important for teachers to attend on-going trainings and stay up to date on current information. Great post!
ReplyDeleteVertina- I really enjoyed reading your post. I think it is important and great to always improve in centers. Quality of care for young children is a great way to update and challenge not only students but teachers as well.
ReplyDeleteThere is alot of change that is taking place in centers, also for teachers... Different grants and funding have more requirements and most of them are now requiring centers to look a certain way, student to be taught a certain way and teachers are to have atleast a bachelor in ECE. That can be a lot of pressure but it's only for the better.
I totally agree
DeleteVertina- the advisory committee that you meet with once a month, is this at the center you work at as well?
ReplyDeleteHello Naomi,
DeleteThe advisory committee is through our local child care resource and referral agency. We also meet once a month at my place of employment and discuss ways to improve quality care. Our main goal for this meeting is to discuss the things that work and eliminate the things that don't.
I just read in article in my local paper about the quality of preschools in Illinois. One thing that it said was the Obama is pushing for more preschools for everyone because he believes that there aren't enough. It also mentioned that Illinois has the worst preschool programs due to funding in the the nation. The center that I work at just completed the QRS last summer. We didn't get all that we wanted in funding. I definately agree that we need more quality care
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to me after 38 years in education that anyone in education can think 'teaching' is EASY! Why do we have people in education think that it is not work. Don't we want what's best for our future. I think sometimes all these standards and race to the top is nothing but documenting what we've tried to do however since teachers and education in general is under such scrutiny we need to prove we are in fact doing something to teach students.
ReplyDeleteTeachers have a great responsibility of educating children, and it is hard. No two children are the same and no single approach to teaching works for all students. We have to learn the standards and teach a diverse group of children with varying abilities and cultural backgrounds. We have to deal with national, state, local, and parents goals for educating students, all of which are different. The list goes on........
ReplyDelete