Presentation to the Blue Ribbon Commission
December 17, 2016
What is STARS?
• STARS is Vermont’s quality recognition system for child
care, preschool, and afterschool programs. Programs that
participate in STARS are stepping ahead — going above
and beyond state regulations to provide professional
services that meet the needs of children and families.
• Registered and licensed family child care homes, licensed
early childhood, preschool, Head Start, afterschool, and
non-recurring care programs all can, and do, participate
in STARS.
• Research has informed the development of STARS and
continues to inform implementation.
Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8:
A Unifying Foundation
Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC). 2015. Washington D.C.:
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
How does STARS connect with
Vermont’s Early Childhood Action
Plan?
Result #3: All children and families
have access to high quality
opportunities that meet their needs
(p.20 Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan, March
2014)
Guiding Principle: Early Childhood
settings for children 0-5 meet high
program standards (p.7 Vermont’s Early
Childhood Framework)
Applying for STARS:
1. Providers select and submit the application for the type of
program they manage:
Early childhood program,
Family child care program,
Afterschool program, or
NAEYC-Accredited program.
No application fee is required.
2. Programs must have had a licensing compliance visit within
two years from the date of application. The STARS coordinator
notifies CDD licensers as needed. STARS coordinators also
connect program assessors with programs as needed/requested.
The Five STARS
“Arenas of Action”
• Staff qualifications
• Families and communities
• Program practices
• Regulatory history
• Program administration
Teaching Staff Qualifications and
Annual Professional Development
Arena
Analysis of several studies found that the effects on child outcomes
for teachers with a Bachelor’s degree with specialized training in early
childhood education and child development were significantly greater
than for teachers with less education.
NIEER Working Paper-The Impact of Teacher Education on Outcomes
in Center-Based Early Childhood Education Programs: A Metaanalysis, Pamela Kelley and Gregory Camilli (2007)
Families and Communities Arena
Children, Families and Providers are all a part of the culture
of learning. Programs that integrate positive engaging
relationships with families and the communities are valuing
the importance of parents and community as partners to
support high quality early care and education which results
in optimal child development.
QRIS National Learning Network-Center For The Study of
Social Policy’s Strengthening Families Protective and
Promotive Factors
Program Practices Arena
(up to 5 pts)
Nationally recognized and validated Environment Rating Scale
(ERS) and Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) are
used to assess the quality of the environment and daily
practices of the program including teacher child interactions.
Teaching Strategies Gold (TS Gold) is the primary child
observation tool and used in STARS to inform curriculum.
The relationship with teachers, learning activities and
classroom environment has a significant impact on a child’s
development.
“Measures of Classroom Quality in Pre-Kindergarten and
Children’s Development of Academic, Language and Social
Skills,” University of Virginia, Mashburn, Andrew J, and Pianta,
Robert C., May 2008.
Regulatory History Arena
Being in regulatory compliance is required to enter STARS. This
means that the program is in compliance with all DCF/CDD
regulations, a DCF licenser has conducted an onsite inspection
within the last two years and any substantiated violations have been
corrected. The Regulatory History Arena recognizes regulatory
compliance over time.
Environment Rating Scale (ERS)scores tend to improve over the first
few years of a program’s operation. Maintaining compliance
without serious violations is critical to maintaining the highest point
level in this arena of STARS.
Administration Arena
A high quality program has effective and solid
management practices, leadership, and is
financial sound. Research reveals that specific
aspects of program leadership, management,
and administration are correlated with quality
environments and child outcomes.
Caruso, J.J. & Fawcett M.T. (1999) “Supervision
in early childhood education: A developmental
perspective (2nd ed) New York: Teachers College
Press
Points are totaled across all five arenas to determine the star level the
program has achieved.
The more stars a program has, the more it is involved in a wide range
of practices that support children, families, and professionals.
 One-star programs (1 - 4 points) are examining their practices to enhance
the services they provide. They may be fairly new, just starting on a path of
improvement and growth, or be stronger in one area.
 Two-star programs (5 - 8 points) are making a commitment to strengthen
their practices. They may have made some progress in many areas or more
progress in one or two areas.
 Three-star programs (9 - 11 points) have made improvements and are
working to reach specific goals. They have either made substantial progress
in two or three areas or have made some improvements across all five areas.
 Four-star programs (12 - 14 points) are established programs that have met
several standards of quality in all five areas. Many four-star programs are
also nationally accredited.
 Five-star programs (15 - 17 points) are outstanding in all five areas. Many
five-star programs are also nationally accredited.
Licensed and
Registered
1 Star
237
16.16%
Licensed and
Registered
2 Star
213
14.52%
Licensed and
Registered
3 Star
200
13.63%
Licensed and
Registered
4 Star
213
14.52%
Licensed and
Registered
5 Star
236
16.09%
Licensed and
Registered
Not Rated
368
25.09%
Licensed and
Registered
Rated (All)
1099
74.91%
TOTALS
1467
Source: Vermont Bright Futures Information System
December 14, 2015
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STARS and the Family Child Care Provider

It's not a hotel rating

Working your way up the levels in STARS = program quality
improvements and more opportunities

STARS and Mentoring

It is what I have provided the most mentoring for over the
past few years

Once a mentee has buy in, and joins, the possibilities are
endless for them

Have been a licensed provider for 15 years

Have participated in STARS since its inception

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
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VT STARS is a robust QRIS system, I was able to use it as a lever
to help me make the improvement necessary to pursue
NAEYC Accreditation
As a mentor and coordinator for VAEYC's Quality Improvement
Project I work with many programs around quality improvement
STARS is a comprehensive tool and guide for incremental
program improvement and is a tool for me in my work
Parents have become savvy consumers. They are looking for
programs who participate in STARS

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 All parents’ value their child’s education; STARS is a tool and resource for families to help
choose quality child care and early learning opportunities, in order for their children to reach
their full potential. STARS empower parents to make well informed decisions about the quality
of care and education for their children. STARS offers child care providers a higher
reimbursement rate based on the number of STARS earned, potentially decreasing a families
co-pay/and or cost of child care.
 While higher STAR levels indicate a high quality program, all STAR levels are a sign that a
program has made a commitment to the overall importance of early learning and development.
Research has shown that the early years in a child’s life, when the human brain is forming;
represent a critically important window of opportunity to develop a child’s full potential. It is
the quality of the nurturing relationships and stimulating rich learning environment that
parents value in a high quality early childhood experience. It is the healthy promotion of social
and emotional skills and the path to a broader measure of health and well-being that are the
meaningful moments of opportunities that children will carry with them well into their later
years in life.
 As a single parent and head of household for two young children, I rely on high quality
early childhood and afterschool care so that I can go to work every day and provide for myself
and my family. It is the comfort to know that my children are safe, happy, have consistent and
caring relationships with their caregivers who are educated in early learning and development,
and that they are engaged in activities that promote healthy social and emotion development
that make our lives possible. I not only work this life, but live it on a daily basis and share
many of the struggles that challenge Vermont families. The early childhood and afterschool
programs are an extension of my family and are not a “nice” to have, but a “must have.” I am
deeply passionate and devoted to strengthening and supporting Vermont’s QRIS system.


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STARS is a Framework which support programs working through
manageable steps within key arenas to achieve quality levels.
The STARS Coordinator’s job is to monitor how well programs
meet the quality standards in each arena, verify ongoing
compliance, manage data, as well as support providers through
technical assistance, and trainings. Coordinators work on
effective collaboration with other statewide agencies,
community, and private partners.
STARS coordinators attend the annual National QRIS conference
to stay current on national trends, issues, topics, and research.
Ultimately, to improve the functioning of STARS as a system to
effectively evaluate quality and build strong foundations for
Vermont’s youngest children and their families.
More information on STARS is on the CDD Website
http://dcf.vermont.gov/childcare/parents/stars
and
http://dcf.vermont.gov/childcare/providers/stars
STARS presenters
Jan Walker
Jan.Walker@vermont.gov
(802) 769-6426 or (800) 649-2642
Brenda Schramm
brenda@vermontbirthtothree.org
Sonya Raymond
sonja@appletreelearningcenters.com
Tierney O’Meara
tierney@mjccvt.org or stars@mjccvt.org
398-2037