Child Development

The things your child learns and experiences in the first five years shape their development and the way they connect with the world around them. High-quality early learning experiences set your child up for success in school and in life.

As a parent or caregiver, you are giving your child a quality start by seeking out programs that offer high-quality early learning.

Programs that provide high quality early learning have these key features:

• Small class sizes: so that children get more one-on-one attention.
• Engaging and enriching curriculum: so children are able to learn.
• Safe spaces: to promote children’s exploration and learning.
• Excellent teachers: that support children’s social, emotional, and physical development through positive interactions.
• Inclusive communities: that engage families in meaningful ways and embrace families’ cultures and home languages.

QRIS is a nationwide initiative that works to raise the quality of early learning programs for children 0-5. Early learning programs volunteer to join QRIS because they are dedicated to providing the best quality of care to children. By participating in QRIS, programs receive a QRIS rating of quality, coaching, training and resources so they can continue to raise the quality of their program. In California, the QRIS is called Quality Counts California.

When an early learning program joins QRIS they receive a QRIS rating. The rating is based on a set of California state standards known to promote high-quality early learning for kids. Ratings help programs identify how they are already providing quality early learning and ways they can keep improving.

QRIS rating standards include:

• Interactions between teachers and children
• How teachers meet and support the developmental needs of children
• The health and safety of the classroom Staff qualifications and training
• Group size, number of children per teacher

A QRIS rating can be between one and five points:

Regardless of what level programs start on when they join QRIS, their commitment is to provide high-quality early learning to prepare your child for Kindergarten. QRIS programs value your child’s health, happiness and development just like you do.

Ratings can help you find high-quality early learning programs that can best meet their child’s needs.

 Sites Receiving a Quality Rating

Sites Committed to Quality:

• Brandie Stevens - Licensed Family Child Care Home Provider
• Discovery Point Preschool - Licensed Private Center
• Discovery Point Early Learning Center - Licensed Private Center
• Leonor Santana - Licensed Family Child Care Home
• Lily Brooks - Licensed Family Child Care Home Provider
• Lorena Solorio - Licensed Family Child Care Home
• Lucila Campos - Licensed Family Child Care Home
• Mirta Ayala de Soto - Licensed Family Child Care Home Provider
• Rainbow Connection  - Licensed Private Center
• Sheri Garcia - Licensed Family Child Care Home Provider