Quality Improvement
Because early childhood education outcomes are based upon the quality of services provided to children and families, Parents as Teachers National Center offers its programs a blueprint for quality implementation of its Born to LearnTM model. This blueprint comes in the form of eight quality standards based on best practices. In addition to the blueprint, Parents as Teachers National Center provides a comprehensive easy-to-implement self-assessment process to help you measure your program, recognize your strengths, and develop a plan for continuous program improvement.
The Parents as Teachers quality initiative has three basic components:
- the Parents as Teachers standards and quality indicators
- a program self-assessment process using A Closer Look…The PAT Standard and Self-Assessment Guide
- a site visit and national recognition program
In Kansas, the State Department of Education funded districts using the Parents as Teachers self-assessment process, including A Closer Look. The PAT Standards and Self-Assessment Guide is required. All districts must incorporate the process into the PAT program and write
Yearly Continuous Quality Improvement Plan in their annual Continuation Grant Application. Programs receive an initial quality visit by a Kansas Quality Consultant. Every 3 years after that district programs reevaluate using all eight standards, their plan internally or with another Quality Consultant visit.
