8084 MD4 Dis

4

Respond to a minimum of two colleagues in 125 words by sharing additional insights, comparing experiences, and posing questions that further promotes dialogue.

Katheryn Gonzales 

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I interviewed a program director (Kebera) and teacher (Ashley) at a daycare center near my house. The program serves children from birth to age five. The program underwent accreditation through Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS) by submitting a portfolio. The portfolio was evaluated based on how the school complied with standards regarding relationships with family, teaching practices, and staff qualifications (Quality Rated Child Care, n.d.). The program underwent accreditation in 2017 and has received a quality rating of two stars. Two stars indicate that the program is committed to meeting standards that exceed both health and safety requirements for the state of Georgia. The two-star rating also shows that the program has met many quality standards and regularly scores well on observations (Quality Rated Child Care, n.d.).

After interviewing Ashley and Kebera, I found that the challenges they faced going through the accreditation process and the positive outcomes are like those of the presenters from this week's learning resources. For example, Ashley found that the amount of paperwork she had to complete for her classroom was overwhelming, especially while teaching. Another challenge similar to those of the presenters is that she felt that some of the expectations were unreasonable. For example, Ashley said that positive verbiage was expected. She could not say things like "stop running" but instead had to say something like "please walk." Another example she gave was she was not able to say "stop hitting," but instead had to say "stop hitting Timmy, but instead try hitting this pillow." The unreasonable part of this expectation is that even if a parent from outside the program visiting her classroom used negative verbiage, she would lose points.

Kebera had similar challenges as she worked to motivate her teachers. However, Kebera, like the other program directors from the presentations, found that she received a lot of support through manuals and support persons that she could contact when she had questions. Kebera worked with her teachers and offered support and communication weekly and monthly. Ashley found the communication helpful and felt supported through the process.

After undergoing the accreditation process, Ashley felt that overall, the process was beneficial. She found that going through accreditation made the school better. She said that everyone in the building is expected to undergo annual training. Another positive effect program evaluation had on the school was that it helped teachers understand how to practice quality care. The teachers have a better understanding of developmentally appropriate practices.  

After interviewing Ashley and Kebera and listening to the presenters, I have found that communication is vital when implementing data-driven change. Each of the presenters, Kebera, and Ashley, noted that a positive aspect of this process was support from the outside agency in the form of phone calls and manuals. Ashley found that communication from the program director regularly through weekly and monthly meetings helped set timelines and expectations for the teachers. The presenters taught me that the paperwork could be overwhelming, but to work on little bits at a time and to communicate through the process.

References

Quality Rated Child Care. (n.d.). GEEARS. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://geears.org/quality-rated-

child-care/#:~:text=Two%20stars%20%E2%80%93%20Program%20has%20demonstrated

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016d). Voices from the field: Implementation

experiences [Audio file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

 

Kelli Barnes 

RE: Discussion - Module 4

COLLAPSE

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  For this week's assignment, I interviewed the owner and operator of KidZone early childcare center, Rachel, a parent of two enrolled children, Latoya.  Kidzone is an independent

learning center for children ages six weeks to age five. The program has gone through the accreditation process with Bright From the Start.  This agency is an Georgia based agency that

administers the nationally recognized Georgia’s Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers Georgia's Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program,

federal nutrition programs, and manages Quality Rated, Georgia’s community powered child care rating system (Bright From The Start, n.d).   The program went through the most recent

accreditation in 2021.  BFTS reviews accreditation yearly.  In 2021, Kidzone was given their independent licensure and given postive ratings with no improvements required.  

      After discussing Kidzone and interviewing Rachel and Latoya, I reflected on this week's media and the challenges mentioned in the accreditation process.  Just as Rachel stated that the

accreditation process in itself can be taxing and tedious, Mary Graham in this week's media also stated that the accreditation process can be challenging and overwhelming at times (2016). 

For example, the paperwork alone can be quite astounding and the notebooks that Mary referenced can be excessive.  This challenge alone can create a defeated feeling before the process

even begins.  However, Rachel, seems dedicated to providing a safe learning environment for children.  Another common challenge that was a similarity was that of qualified staff.  Rachel

and Latoya made mention of this during their interview.  From a parent's perspective, Latoya wanted to insure that her children were being instructed and cared for by reliable, trustworthy

teachers that had her children's best interest at heart.  In addition, Rachel wanted to hire teachers that were professional, qualified, and expereinced.  Christy Opsommer discussed this as a

commanility in programs and the continous effort to fill programs with qualified staff (2016).  

      I found it interesting that the interview yielded similar results as the media responses about program accreditation.  While data was collected and reviewed, it becomes apparent that we

must take data and utilize it to benfit the programs at hand.  Although the process of accreditation needs to be thourough, maybe more can be done electronically, versus the paperwork that

has been mentioned.  In regards to the staffing challenge, I feel that this will always be a constant.  In the world of education, insuring that our students have the best teachers is always a

priority and yet a struggle.  Implementing more effecient training can be a start to growing better staff. This is just one way that we can take the best and make it better!

References

Bright From The Start. (n.d.)  Georgia Department of Early Learning. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from http://www.decal.ga.gov/Default.aspx

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016). Voices from the field: Implementation experiences [Audio file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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