ASHLAND — Morning sunlight streamed through the windows of Foundations Community Childcare, where a gaggle of toddlers crowded around a three-foot-high gray mesh pyramid. Their tiny fingers clutched soft plastic balls — the kind you’d find in a ball pit. They hurled them towards the pyramid at close range, giggling and squealing with delight as the balls flew through the holes and rolled across the rainbow carpet.
It looked like fun and games at first glance, but the playtime was all part of the plan — the lesson plan.
Teachers Emma Hickman and Regan Kline choose the activity to fit learning goals related to colors, numbers, shapes and even gross motor skills.
The pair of educators sat on the carpet, eye level with their charges, asking questions.
“What color is that ball?” Hickman asked a boy with silky blonde hair.
“Yellow!” he declared.
The boy tossed the ball, then scooped up one in each hand.
“How many yellow balls do you have?” Hickman asked.
“Two!” he cheered.
“Two!” she echoed. “Good job!”
Curriculum and lesson plans are consistently considered a hallmark of a high quality child care.
Studies have found that high quality care can benefit students and families in numerous ways — from better cognitive and academic outcomes in elementary school to lower stress and better employment outcomes for parents and caregivers.
Research also suggests the benefits of high quality care are especially apparent for children from low-income families.
But what does “high quality” mean?
There’s no single definition, but researchers and early childhood educators tend to agree on a few common factors.
These include highly-trained teachers, small group sizes and low child-to-teacher ratios.
(By law, Ohio’s child care ratios requirements allow for more children per teacher than what’s recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Public Health Association.)
Experts also say it’s important for staff to have frequent, meaningful and warm communication with children.
“From the time they’re born to age 3, that’s when (children’s) attachments and relationships are established,” said Natasha Repp, director at Clover Hill Early Learning Center.
“Having that social, emotional interaction plays a very big part then in their lives and how they transition as they get older, as a child grows into adulthood.”
Preschool on a podium: Step Up to Quality gives bronze, silver and gold ratings
In Ohio, licensed child care providers can apply for a Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) rating that demonstrates steps they’ve taken to boost the quality of their care.
It’s optional, but providers must participate if they serve families who receive government aid to help cover child care costs.
“It’s purpose is really to help families identify those programs that go above and beyond licensing,” said Susan Martin, data manager at the YWCA of Northwest Ohio.
SUTQ was launched in 2006 as a one to three star system administered by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. Its ranking system was tweaked in 2014 to become a one- to five-star metric.
The current SUTQ system has three levels: gold, silver and bronze, with gold being the highest rating. It’s now administered by Ohio’s Department of Children & Youth.
To be a SUTQ rated center, centers or in-home child cares must use a state-approved curriculum. Staff must complete additional hours of professional development each year. There are extra requirements surrounding staff education levels, family assessments and continuous improvement plans.
Gold rated centers are required to have lower student-to-teacher ratios and offer educational training workshops or events for families.
“I’m a big advocate of Step Up to Quality,” said Repp, whose center is gold-rated.
“I know there’s people in our industry that are not, because it is a lot of extra work,” she said. “But to me, that makes the program so much better, because you’re doing all these extra things that the children are able to benefit from.”
A 2020 analysis found children who attend SUTQ-rated programs did better on standardized tests in kindergarten and third grade than those who attended non-rated programs — though the effect was minimal.
The same analysis found children in higher-rated SUTQ programs scored better than those in lower-rated SUTQ programs, by about 3 points on average.
Some providers choose to skip SUTQ, say quality of care speaks for itself
Kate Monnes Goldsmith is the director of Kids Korner Preschool and Child Care Center in Lexington. Her mother, Anna Monnes, founded the center before SUTQ existed.
She said she sees value in the program, but would rather avoid the paperwork and potential of shifting requirements from a government entity.
“I think there’s very much a need and a place for Step Up to Quality, so I am ultimately glad that they exist and that other programs do benefit from it and utilize it,” she said.
“The administrative burden that weighs on centers is pretty hefty as is … I feel like we are still delivering a quality service without requiring that as a backing.”
Brandy Scheetz was a preschool director in Medina before taking the helm at Foundations Community Childcare.
“My preschool that I directed (before coming to Foundations), we never even went for a star rating. We could have had a gold like that, but we didn’t need it,” Scheetz said.
“We had a good reputation within the community and that’s what families needed to see.”
Christole Page operates a bronze-rated center, Lorine’s Little Learners. She said she thinks SUTQ is a fair metric of care — but that centers may not go for the highest rating they could receive because of the paperwork.
“I think a lot of child care centers go above and beyond what the state asks, but I think sometimes we just don’t realize it,” she said. “You’ll see some of the things that they have list out, and it’s like, ‘Oh, we already do that.'”
“They are asking you to actually have documentation of it and things like that,” she added. “Some of the things that have to be done, they are time consuming.”
Beyond SUTQ: How to choose the best care for your child
In some cases, the requirements of SUTQ feel more aspirational than practical.
Child care centers in Ohio operate on razor-thin profit margins that make it difficult to hire additional staff or those with higher levels of education.
“I think there is that disconnect when you’re looking at what Step Up to Quality wants them to have to be a lead teacher versus what we’re able to compensate them while still trying to keep a tuition that families can afford,” Scheetz said.
“If I have a degree in early childhood education, the odds of me working in a child care center where I might only get paid $18 an hour — they’re slim.”
Gold-rated centers are required to have 40 percent of their classrooms below the child-to-teacher ratios set by the state. But in an environment where child care is scarce, Scheetz said that can create conflicting priorities.
“One of our biggest goals in this space was to be able to accommodate as many infants and toddlers as possible,” she said.
“If I can’t serve as many children, that’s already a problem within a community that’s looking for those spaces.”
Foundations opened last year and recently applied for and received its bronze rating — though Scheetz believes they probably could have qualified for silver.
Nevertheless, Scheetz said parents should look beyond a rating when evaluating what care will be best for their child.
She said it’s relatively easy for centers to fill out the right paperwork — but the consistent practices of teachers and staff are what matters.
“(Parents) need to come in and see the teachers interact with the children. Are the teachers down on my child’s level, playing with them and talking with them? Is the facility clean, and are there books and toys that are safe and readily available?” she said.
“I would challenge families to look at lesson plans as well. Our lesson plans are hanging in the classroom. If I look at a lesson plan and it looks the same this week as it looked last week, that’s not a lesson plan, that’s a daily schedule.”
Repp said families should seek out child care that aligns with their priorities.
“What do you consider child care? What do you consider preschool? Everybody might have their own perception on that,” she said.
“If you were to ask me that, I would say a curriculum. It has to be play-based. You have to expose them to nature. You have to have lesson plans.”
Read the full series
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