Submitted by SALC Director Chelce Finch and Asst. Director Liz Tucker
QualitystarsNY is New York State’s voluntary 5-star early childhood Quality Rating and Improvement System. Since the inception, QualitystarsNY has focused its evidence-based practices to ensure young children in participating programs have access to excellence and their families can trust the level of quality in the programs they choose.
Currently QualitystarsNY operates in all 10 economic regions across the state and supports more than 800 sites serving low-income families in high-need communities. All regulated sites are eligible to apply for participation including childcare, family childcare, pre-k in both centers and schools, and Head Start/Early Head Start.
Each participating site works closely with a Quality Improvement Specialist focusing on Quality Standards that fall into four key categories: Children’s Learning Environment, Family Engagement, Leadership & Management, and Staff Qualifications & Experience. Quality Improvement Specialists, experts in the early childhood profession, provide individualized technical assistance to support each participant with continuous quality improvement. An individual Quality Improvement Plan is developed in partnership with the program leader to support the development and implementation of goals. A wide range of resources are made available to each site to support continuous quality improvement.
The QUALITYstarsNY Standards were created by leading experts in the field of child development and early learning to provide New York State with a common framework for the elements of high quality in early childhood programs. The Standards are used to measure program quality in the QUALITYstarsNY rating process and provide programs with a roadmap for quality improvement based on best practice.
During the QUALITYstarsNY rating process, a program completes an assessment using the Standards to determine their Star Rating of 1-5 Stars. When a program demonstrates that they meet a quality indicator, they earn points toward their rating score. For programs that receive a Provisional Rating of 1 or 2 Stars, their Provisional Rating becomes their program’s Active Rating, and they can begin their quality improvement work. Programs Provisionally Rated 3-5 Stars will undergo an Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) assessment from an independent observation team, the results of which will be combined with their Standards Inventory points to determine the program’s Active Rating. If a program receives an average score of 4.25 or below on their ERS assessment, they will automatically decrease a Star level for their Active Rating.
In March of 2017 the Seneca Arts and Learning Center (SALC) had been in their new building for just under one year when they enrolled in the Quality Improvement Rating System with Quality Stars New York. At that time SALC received a 1-star rating and was issued quality improvement recommendations to support the development of the program. In April of 2021 the Seneca Arts and Learning Center re- rated with Quality Stars and was awarded a provisional rating of 4 stars. For the provisional rating to become official the classrooms needed to undergo an Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) assessment to prove the programs high quality. Upon waiting for New York State to schedule the assessment the COVID 19 Pandemic occurred, and we were shut down.
Returning from COVID after a lengthy closure presented many obstacles, including ensuring that the newly onboarded staff was up to quality level, classroom environments and materials were all at a quality level while maintaining the stringent health and safety requirements. In May of 2023 Quality Stars New York traveled to our facility and observed classrooms at random with no notice. The classrooms are rated on: program structure, curriculum, lesson plans, classroom schedules, space and furnishings, room arrangement for play and learning, gross motor play, gross motor equipment, meals, toileting/ diapering, safety practices, supporting expanded vocabulary, language encouragement, literacy support and use of books, music and movement, block play and dramatic play, nature/science, math materials and activities, competence of written numbers, promoting diversity acceptance, appropriate technology use, supervision, individualized teaching and learning, staff-child interaction, peer to peer interaction, discipline, transitions and waiting times, free play, whole group activities for learning and play and more.
The assessments were done from the infant rooms through preschool and head start. On June 5th, 2023, the Seneca Arts and Learning Center received an official rating of 4 STARS. The continuous hard work of each and every staff member at SALC is a direct reflection of this prestigious rating. A 4-star facility is a long-term goal of many programs, and we are honored to be recognized by the State of New York and Quality Stars for the dedication, hard work, and commitment that our Administration, Teachers, and Facility members put in day in and day out to ensure that high quality standards are continuously met. A key element in our exceptional rating is our staff members commitment to higher education, from Child Development Associates (CDA), Associates Degrees, and Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. SALC alone has 44 employees who’ve obtained or is the process of obtaining higher education within our program, while continuing to provide high-quality level of services.
If anyone is interested in applying to work at Seneca Arts and Learning Center, please reach out to Lasha Lay in the SN Human Resources Office, as we have open positions.
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