The post is sponsored by GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students; however, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
As a teacher, one of the things that I value the most is the education of my own child. When my sweet Vivilyn was still growing inside of my belly I was constantly thinking about what I was going to do for her childcare. I wanted an organization that I could trust as well as one that would provide her with the tools to be successful once she entered school. While searching the internet one day I happened to stumble upon Quality Rated.org.
Quality Rated.org is a unique website that offers parents the chance to search through child care options in the state of Georgia. There is over 5,000 state licensed and monitored child care programs within the state and finding the perfect fit for you family can be a daunting task. With their free search tool, parents can search for childcare options based on price, distance, services offered and a Quality Rated child care programs. You can even search for a child care facility that is on your commute by clicking the “Search Along A Route” option!
Once you have searched for facilities that meet your initial criteria you can easily access each child care program’s safety and inspection reports, opening hours, prices, teacher credential and transportation options.
Quality Rated that I mentioned earlier helps parents identify child care programs within the state of Georgia that are highly quality. Child care facilities can choose to participate in the Quality Rated program. Once in the program, each child care is independently evaluated by qualified early childhood education experts to ensure that they are following the current best practices. It also ensures that they are committed to continually improving their centers and the education they offer. As a teacher, I can assure you that the realm of education is constantly changing. Over time we have learned what programs work, what children need and what is required to meet those needs. It is comforting to see that so many child care facilities in the state are working to improve what they offer to their children so they are always receiving the best possible education.
Quality Rated.org assigns stars to early education and school-age care programs that meet or exceed the minimum state requirements. Some things that look at to determine the star rating include:
- Employing qualified and well-trained teachers
- Providing a safe, healthy and caring environment
- Implementing individualized instruction
- Offering a curriculum that prepares children for kindergarten
- A focus on both active learning and social-emotional development
- Engaging families
- Providing a low teacher-student ratio
A program can earn one, two, or three stars depending on the standards and benchmarks that they meet. The ratings are as follows:
One star – Program has demonstrated a commitment to meeting standards that exceed state health and safety requirements, meets several quality benchmarks, and scores sufficiently on the independent observation.
Two stars– Program has demonstrated a commitment to meeting standards that exceed state health and safety requirements, meets many quality benchmarks, and scores well on the independent observation.
Three stars – Program has demonstrated a commitment to meeting standards that exceed state health and safety requirements, meets numerous quality benchmarks, and scores high on the independent observation.
Another thing that I love about the Quality Rated tool is that it allows you to look at all Child Care providers in the state, even if they are not Quality Rated. This includes licensed and license-exempt child care providers in Georgia. For each of them you get a comprehensive overview so that you can make the best possible child care choice for your child. This includes all child care providers, pre-k programs and summer camps within the state of Georgia.
As parents, we have enough on our plates to worry about choosing a child care provider for our child. Let Quality Rated.org help you out and take the guess work out of how to best meet your needs! Have you heard of Quality Rated.org? What do you consider when making a child care choice? Is your child’s child care Quality Rated? Click HERE to use the tool and find out! Let me know! I always love to hear from you!
Disclaimer: Dress worn in this blog post was courtesy of Little Adventures Dress Ups. Vivi is wearing the Queen of Hearts dress in a size small. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
