Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads

Filing Period

Oct 1, 2011 to Sep 30, 2012

Signed

Feb 5, 2013

Return Version

2011v1.2

Gross Receipts

$176,490

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Improving quality for children-virginia's quality rating improvement system (qris):qris is a consumer education tool for parents to know what quality looks like on a one-to-five star scale. Every star that a center earns is above and beyond the minimum licensing standards for child care centers in our region. When a center participates in qris they are showing a commitment to improving quality for young children. Since 2009, these programs have worked hard to maintain and improve higher quality standards for young children. When a center participates in qris they receive a star rating and a mentor that works with them to develop a quality improvement plan. Resources are provided to: - increase teacher education and qualifications through scholarships. - improve teacher-child interactions through training and education. - provide books and early learning materials to improve the environment for children. Impact - 99 centers participating. - over 9,000 children impacted. - 16 four-star rated centers in our region. - to date, 64% of qris centers increased their rating by one-star. - the average star rating increased from 2.4 to 3.1 following 18 months of a quality mentorship. Contracting with the planning council to pilot qris in family child care homes: 11 family child care homes pilot qris, 2 5-star rated programs, 8 4-star rated program, 1 3-star rated program, 67 children impacted.evaluation of the qrisin 2010, sbshr commissioned a study by the university of virginia's center for the advanced study of teaching and learning to research and examine the link between child care quality and school readiness outcomes. Results showed: - children in qris centers that were mentored for more hours had significantly greater rates of development of language and social-emotional skills during the school year. - qris centers had significantly higher overall quality learning environments and instructional practices than comparison centers after participating in the quality enhancement initiative.teacher scholarships:from parents to policymakers, everyone agrees teachers are central to high quality early education programs. Without effective teachers, young children do not receive the kinds of educational experiences linked to ongoing academic and social success. A homegrown scholarship program was developed to address the need to improve the early education workforce with a $500,000 investment from the batten educational achievement fund of the hrcf. A partnership with tidewater community college was forged to award early childhood teachers scholarships to increase their level of education which is a critical component to improving early education programs for children.impact - 353 teachers awarded to teachers in qris programs.early education small business development program:working with the hampton roads chamber of commerce small business development center to provide a "mini-mba" for child care providers to help them manage the business. The program provides business training and mentoring to learn how to manage budgets, develop business plans, create effective marketing strategies to help centers improve the business side of their operations and then focus on improving quality though the qris. Impact - 23 centers participated. - sbdc program graduates have seen a 28% increase in revenues - sbdc program graduates have seen a 20% increase in enrollment. Newborn family screening and referral (nfsr):in 2009, the region identified the importance of reaching all parents at the time of a child's birth. Through the batten educational achievement fund of the hampton roads community foundation, $500,000 was allocated to identify, pilot and implement a newborn and family screening and referral system. In 2011, a two-year grant was awarded to suffolks sentara obici hospital.impact: - matching $300,000 in private dollars with a $1 to $1 match that blends public-private funding. - screening 100% of moms delivering at sentara obici hospital to identi

Filer

EIN

20-4308794