We are proud to have been selected as the lead organization for Ready Region Southside. As a Ready Region lead organization, we are part of a statewide network bringing strategic leadership and coordination of early childhood care and education (ECCE) services and resources to prepare all children and families for success. Ready Regions focus on:
Strengthening Quality.
We will ensure all components are in place to coordinate quality measurement and guide improvement in publicly funded classrooms as part of VQB5.
Building Relationships.
We will engage with leaders across the region to facilitate buy-in for shared accountability and benefit.
Increasing Access.
We will administer Mixed Delivery programming in the region, lead our VBREE delegation and regional activities to build child care supply, and coordinate enrollment to help parents learn about and access ECCE services that meet their needs and preferences, while helping ECCE providers connect with and serve more families.
Engaging Families.
We will support a Family Council, made up of families from across our region who reflect the diversity of our region, to ensure the early childhood system is designed to work for families.
Our Approach
Strengthening Quality (Virginia Quality Birth to Five)
We will ensure all components are in place to coordinate quality measurement and guide improvement in publicly funded classrooms as part of Virginia Quality Birth to Five.
To prepare all children for kindergarten and in response to state law, Virginia has developed the Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (Virginia Quality Birth to Five) to measure and help improve the quality of all publicly-funded birth-to-five classrooms and support families to choose quality programming across program types.
All publicly-funded birth-to-five early childhood programs are required to participate in Virginia Quality Birth to Five on an annual basis. Programs that do not receive public funding have the option to participate. Details available on the Virginia Quality Birth to Five Participation Requirements webpage.
VQB5 Quality Profiles (with information about early childhood program performance on quality measures and other topics of interest to families, policy makers, and the public) is available at EarlyChildhoodQuality.doe.virginia.gov.
Ready Regions coordinate and support participation in Virginia Quality Birth to Five for early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs in the region.
To enroll in Virginia Quality Birth to Five, contact:
Sara Evermoore, Early Learning Manager
severmoore@centerforearlysuccess.org
434-797-8887
The Virginia Department of Education administers Virginia Quality Birth to Five as established by the Virginia Board of Education.
To learn more, visit the VDOE Quality Measurement and Improvement (Virginia Quality Birth to Five) website or e-mail vqb5@doe.virginia.edu.
VQB5 Quality Profiles
Virginia Quality Birth to Five Quality Profiles provide information about early childhood program performance on quality measures and other topics of interest to families, policy makers and the public.
Ratings will be published annually, in the fall, and will use the results from CLASS and curriculum measurements gathered during the previous program year to determine the overall annual site ratings.
There are five quality rating levels that describe how well sites are meeting Virginia’s quality expectations:
- Distinguished – The site demonstrates a level of quality that is exceptional and considerably surpasses the state’s highest standards of practice. Sites earning this rating serve as national exemplars, setting a benchmark for best practices in the field.
- Exceeds Expectations – The site performing at this level demonstrates performance that consistently exceeds the state’s established quality standard. These sites implement approaches that can serve as models for peers and contribute to advancing effective practices across the state.
- Meets Expectations – The site meets the standard in a manner that is consistent with the state’s mission and goals for early childhood care and education.
- Approaching Expectations – The site is making progress towards (but has not quite met) the established quality standard. Performance requires targeted improvement to fully meet quality expectations.
- Needs Support – The site is performing below the established standard or in a manner that is inconsistent with the state’s mission and goals for early care and education. Intensive support is needed to improve quality and align with quality expectations.
- Sites who receive a Needs Support rating are required to participate in VDOE site improvement planning, goal setting, and classroom coaching to improve children’s early learning experiences.
VQB5 Quality Profiles can be accessed by visiting the Virginia Department of Education website or clicking this link:
Shared Governance
Ready Region Southside (RRSS) convenes and supports an Advisory Council, a shared governance body, that meets monthly. This includes 16 high-level decision makers representing key stakeholders, including families, in the region.
The council is responsible for informing and supporting initiatives and outcomes across the four pillars of work (Building Relationships, Increasing Access, Strengthening Quality and Engaging Families).
If you are interested in learning more about Shared Governance opportunities, contact:
Stephanie Mann, Director of Engagement and Program Excellence
smann@centerforearlysuccess.org
434-797-8887
Building Relationships
Ready Region Southside is committed to partnering with other organizations and stakeholders to implement this work. We will engage with leaders across the region to facilitate buy-in for shared accountability and benefit. Our shared governance partners include: families, public school, Head Start, private and faith-based childcare, higher education, licensing, business leaders, community service boards, local government, workforce development, libraries and other community organizations.
Ready Region Southside serves as the lead agency for the Virginia Business Roundtable for Early Education (VBREE) Regional Initiative to harness the power of cross-industry regional leaders to identify and implement solutions to child care challenges. The VBREE Regional Initiative creates a unified structure for progress across regions toward priority goals to build sufficient supply of child care and strengthen the early educator pipeline so that all families can access affordable, high- quality care.
To learn more about the VBREE Regional Initiative, visit GetReadyVA!
Increasing Access
Mixed Delivery
We will administer Mixed Delivery programming in the region, and coordinate enrollment to help parents learn about and access ECCE services that meet their needs and preferences; while helping ECCE providers connect with and serve more families.
Ready Region Southside identifies high quality childcare centers and home-based child care to provide publicly funded services in private settings that meet the needs and preferences of families.
Quality early learning experiences are essential for preparing children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. This impact is life-long – research has shown that children who participate in high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs are more likely to finish college, be gainfully employed, and be healthier later in life.
VECF’s Mixed Delivery program provides public funding for ECCE services for eligible children from birth to age five. It helps address the growing demand for full-day, year- round ECCE services that meets families’ needs and preferences. Mixed Delivery also tests strategies to solve the tough issues that site leaders and families face, including increasing teacher salaries to improve recruitment and retention. To learn more about Mixed Delivery visit VECF’s website. For more information about Mixed Delivery, contact:
Jessica Knapp, Early Learning Specialist
jknapp@centerforearlysuccess.org
434.797.8887
Please complete the form below to determine your child(ren)’s eligibility for tuition assistance.
Coordinated Enrollment
Ready Regions is working to coordinate enrollment across publicly funded ECCE programs in the region, such as childcare centers and home-base child care (including those participating in VECF’s Mixed Delivery program) Head Start, Virginia Preschool Initiative, and others) to:
- Help parents easily learn where there are available spots for their children, what they qualify for, and information such as cost, hours, and location.
- Help ECCE providers keep enrollment numbers steady, communicate when they have slots available, and grow in ability to secure the resources for delivery of quality services.
For more information about Coordinated Enrollment, contact:
Kimberly Kelly, Early Learning Specialist
kkelly@centerforearlysuccess.org
434.797.8887
For current information about child care supply and demand, and child and family outcomes in our region and in Virginia, visit the Ready Region ECCE Supply / Demand Dashboard.
on what programs are available, click here.
Engaging Families
We support a Family Council, made up of families from across our localities, who reflect the diversity of our region, to ensure the early childhood system is designed to work for families.
Our Family Council provides input on early childhood design and decisions, and helps our Ready Region understand and better meet families’ needs.
For more information about Family Engagement, contact
Brittnay Collins, Early Learning Specialist
bcollins@centerforearlysuccess.org
434.797.8887
