Dear Colleagues:
The New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council and the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute are pleased to announce the release of the results of the first-ever comparative analysis of performance data on programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY, New York State’s early childhood quality rating and improvement system.
QUALITYstarsNY: New York State’s Bold Step to Ensure Access to Excellence in Early Childhood Education details the results of a three-year assessment of almost 200 programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY. An astonishing 84% of programs that participated improved their quality, based on a series of standards developed by New York’s leading early education researchers and experts. We also saw a 65% increase in the number of programs earning four and five stars, indicating an exceptional level of quality and service for New York’s youngest residents, especially those in low-income families and underserved communities.
QUALITYstarsNY was created to provide children with high quality learning experiences and to ensure that even the most disadvantaged families have access to high-performing programs, a strategy known to mitigate the achievement gap. Once QUALITYstarsNY reaches a critical mass, QUALITYstarsNY ratings will help parents and families to make informed decisions about the early education options available in their communities. More details about QUALITYstarsNY can also be found on the website, www.qualitystarsny.org.
Due to funding constraints, the programs currently enrolled in QUALITYstarsNY represent less than 3% of all early childhood programs in New York. To achieve the greatest improvements in the lives of children, their families, and their neighborhoods and communities, QUALITYstarsNY must grow to scale. With a larger commitment in the state budget, our goal of serving thousands more children and programs across the state, and especially in high needs districts and otherwise underserved regions, could be achieved in just a matter years. The time to invest in QUALITYstarsNY is now.
We and the entire QUALITYstarsNY team thank you for your interest in this important work and look forward to continuing to grow the program to serve thousands more children across New York.
Sincerely,
