Category: Quality First

Information and inspiration for early care and education professionals.

N is for Note Impact of New Practices

In Quality First, we use the VISION model to guide the quality improvement journey and the process of quality improvement coaching. This is the sixth in a series about the stages of the VISION model. If you haven’t already, check[...]
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Tips for Making Materials Accessible to All Ages

Early childhood educators know children learn best through hands-on experiences. You can see the excitement of learning in an infant’s face when rattling a toy or as preschoolers splash at the water table. Your program’s daily routines, transitions and activities[...]
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Keep great teachers at your program: Three ways to boost retention

Early childhood program leaders know that finding and keeping qualified teaching staff is critical to providing a high-quality program. However, many of Arizona’s early childhood programs have seen an increase in teacher turnover over the course of the pandemic. Now[...]
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Help is Here: New System Supports for Arizona’s Early Childhood Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant losses and serious challenges to Arizona’s children and families. It also highlighted the needs of early childhood providers around the state. Fortunately, new funding made possible by federal and state investments are providing much-needed relief[...]
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Engaging Families in Your Quality Improvement Process

Quality improvement involves reflecting on your practice, developing plans for improvement, taking action toward your goals and making adaptations along the way. Whether you are a business owner, program director, classroom teacher or caregiver, how you involve families in your[...]
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Making the most of your informal assessment feedback

The Quality First Assessment team provides informal assessment to offer objective feedback using the updated, third editions of the Environment Rating Scales (ERS) tools. This opportunity is available to licensed child care providers, including family child care and center-based programs[...]
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Boost Your Program’s Improvement Efforts with an Informal Assessment

A Quality First assessment provides feedback to recognize your program’s unique strengths and to help you set goals for quality improvements using objective, research-based tools. An informal assessment is offered to all regulated early care and education providers in Arizona.[...]
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