Quality Measurement and Improvement
Kids’ First Years works to support Virginia’s Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (VQB5), a measurement and improvement system that focuses on the quality of all publicly funded birth-five classrooms, childcare centers, and family childcare providers through ensuring high-quality professional learning is available for all early childhood providers in the city of Alexandria while striving to stabilize the workforce.
For more information:
Rosario Paredes Carrion, DCHS Supervisor, [email protected].
Quality Collaborative
The Quality Collaborative (QC), a collaboration of early education providers, including Kids’ First Years and the City’s publicly-funded early childhood programs, advances exemplary teaching practices in Alexandria classrooms by training and coaching teaching staff and administrators. Now in its 6th year, listed below are a few highlights of the Collaborative:
- Provided training and support to local CLASS observers, implementing Powerful Interaction PLC Cohorts:
- Powerful interactions: How to Connect with Children to Extend their Learning
- Coaching with Powerful Interactions: A Guide for Partnering with Early Childhood Teachers.
- Over 120 teachers have completed the Making the Most of Classroom Interactions (MMCI) course. MMCI is a workshop-style course that gives teachers a foundational introduction of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) framework to help them better understand how effective interactions in the classroom increase children’s learning and development.
- Supported four local leaders to become Train-the-Trainer certified in Creative Curriculum which increased local capacity to provide opportunities for teachers to receive essential training that programs could not otherwise afford on their own.
- Provided trauma-informed care workshops to approximately 300 early education providers since 2017, including introductory workshops and “deeper dive” trainings in six key areas.
