McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY McCormick Center | June 6, 2014

A woman wearing glasses and a suit is smiling in front of a flag.

Sim Loh is a family partnership coordinator at Children’s Village, a nationally-accredited Keystone 4 STARS early learning and school-age enrichment program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving about 350 children. She supports children and families, including non-English speaking families of immigrant status, by ensuring equitable access to education, health, employment, and legal information and resources on a day-to-day basis. She is a member of the Children First Racial Equity Early Childhood Education Provider Council, a community member representative of Philadelphia School District Multilingual Advisory Council, and a board member of Historic Philadelphia.


Sim explains, “I ensure families know their rights and educate them on ways to speak up for themselves and request for interpretation/translation services. I share families’ stories and experiences with legislators and decision-makers so that their needs are understood. Attending Leadership Connections will help me strengthen and grow my skills in all domains by interacting with and hearing from experienced leaders in different positions. With newly acquired skills, I seek to learn about the systems level while paying close attention to the accessibility and barriers of different systems and resources and their impacts on young children and their families.”

A table showing the comparison of pre and post intervention of fas scores

Numerous states include family child care in their quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) and many of these utilize alternative pathways to provide evidence of quality at specific QRIS levels. However, research examining the variation in QRIS models for family child care and the validity of alternative pathways as aligned measures of quality is limited. … Download this resource to read the rest of the research.

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This resource is part of our Research Notes series.


Numerous states include family child care in their quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) and many of these utilize alternative pathways to provide evidence of quality at specific QRIS levels. However, research examining the variation in QRIS models for family child care and the validity of alternative pathways as aligned measures of quality is limited.


The variation across states is especially evident in the use of different quality measures. Some states conduct external assessments using scaled tools with threshold scores required to attain quality rating levels while other models utilize self-assessments to determine if programs meet required criteria. Some models require a combination of assessment scores as well as accreditation status. Still others use accreditation status as an alternative pathway or proxy for certain indicators to achieve a rating level.


Kelton, Talan, and Bloom recently published a study evaluating the validity of Illinois’ alternative pathway model for family child care programs.1 They examined the relationship between three accountability measures frequently used in QRIS to measure quality in family child care programs: accreditation from National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale–Revised Edition (FCCERS-R),2 and the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS).3 The study compared the average FCCERS-R and BAS scores of NAFCC-accredited family child care programs participating in Illinois’ QRS and the likelihood of an accredited program meeting the FCCERS-R and BAS threshold scores set for the alternative pathway.4


SAMPLE AND METHODS


When the data for the study were collected in 2011, family child care programs in Illinois could follow one of two pathways to achieve a 3-star level in the state’s 4-star level QRS. The first pathway involved achieving an average score of 4.25 on the FCCERS-R and an average score of 4.25 on the BAS while the second pathway required programs to demonstrate NAFCC accreditation status. Star levels 1 and 2 required FCCERS-R threshold scores of 3.00 and 3.50 respectively and star level 4 required FCCERS-R and BAS threshold scores of 5.00 as well as NAFCC accreditation status.


Thirty-one 3-star rated family child care programs in Illinois QRS comprised the sample. The data for the programs came from two data sets. One data set included 18 programs that had achieved a 3-star rating and had made application to advance to star level 4. The other data set included 13 accredited 3-star programs that volunteered to be a part of the study. These programs were contacted from a public list of 3-star family child care programs participating in the QRS.


Data collection included conducting FCCERS-R and BAS assessments in each of the participating family child care programs. All of the FCCERS-R and BAS were conducted by assessors who had been trained to reliability by authors and maintained inter-rater reliability of 85% or above throughout the study. Each of the programs had achieved NAFCC accreditation status prior to the study.


RESULTS


FCCERS-R and BAS scores varied greatly; however, the sample’s average scores for both tools fell below the threshold required for 3-star non-accredited programs. As Table 1 demonstrates, the average FCCERS-R score for accredited programs was 3.29, falling .96 below the threshold score of 4.25 required of non-accredited programs. The average BAS score for the sample was 3.81, falling .44 below the 4.25 threshold.

Assessment Possible Range Actual Range N SD
FCCERS-R 1.00 - 7.00 2.30 - 5.89 3.81 1.03
BAS 1.00 - 7.00 1.67 - 4.47 3.29 .61

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The AI-Enabled Administrator: Reclaim Valuable Time

By Dr. Neal Green • February 8, 2026
Tools: Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, Perplexity Spaces Overview The evidence is clear that early childhood professionals' most significant challenge is a lack of time. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, when used strategically, can give administrators some of the time they desperately need, allowing them to focus more on their staff and the children and families in their care. This approach aligns with the foundational goal of strengthening leadership effectiveness and program impact (Abel, Talan, & Masterson, 2023). When I scan the AI landscape of available products and platforms, it becomes overwhelming. There are so many options that it is impossible to keep up with every new development. Focusing on a limited number of AI tools backed by organizations with strong infrastructure and fiscal stability is a wise place to start your AI journey. McCormick Institute for Early Childhood’s (MIEC’s) upcoming professional development sessions will focus on three AI tools. These include Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, and Perplexity Spaces. Think of Gemini Gems as your customized AI assistant that you "train" to follow your rules and meet your goals. Gemini Gems are the right tool to tackle Internal Operations . NotebookLM is perfect for creating Family Support resources that stick. NotebookLM is a powerful AI tool that uses only the documents or other resources you add to generate specific, focused output. Perplexity Spaces is a fantastic choice to address Marketing demands. Like many AI tools, you can toggle back and forth between open web searches and focused documents that are specific to your work. Gemini Gems: The “Specialist Teammate” Gemini Gems allow you to create templates you can use repeatedly for agendas, HR policies, and more. If you have used AI in the past, you know that writing an effective prompt takes time, and they can easily get "lost" if you use AI often. Gems removes that challenge and lets you save your most effective prompts without having to rewrite them every time you use Gemini. It is up to you to decide if you want to create several smaller Gems to tackle common challenges you face or create larger Gems that encompass large swaths of your work. For our purposes, we will focus our Gem work on Internal Operations, addressing Program Administration Scale (PAS) Item 9: Internal Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). Imagine using a Gem to turn messy staff meeting notes into professional minutes with clear action plans in minutes or less! NotebookLM: The "Walled Garden" NotebookLM is an excellent tool for Family Support for your center, addressing PAS Item 17: Family Support and Involvement (Talan & Bloom, 2011). After uploading documents and resources, such as your parent handbook or community referral lists, to your Notebook, you can create several resources that parents/guardians of your center students will love. Just a few of the impressive features available with NotebookLM include audio (podcast) summaries, video summaries, and reporting functions with templates or the option to create your own report with metrics that matter most to you. Perplexity Spaces: The "Research Librarian" Perplexity Spaces is a perfect AI partner for Marketing your early childhood education (ECE) program, addressing PAS Item 18: External Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). You can build your own centralized repository, with control over branding to ensure consistency and present a professional, current image. Adding specific instructions to your space eliminates the need to format documents constantly and saves valuable time. The consistency that a Perplexity Space offers in this regard allows you to upload messages that are the "voice” of your brand. Your marketing efforts are not only more aesthetically pleasing but also enable you to track trends at similar centers in your area, helping you assess the competition. Strategies for Success: Audit your Internal Communications: Identify one repetitive task, such as creating staff meeting agendas (PAS Item 9), and automate it with a Gemini Gem. Curate your Family Resources: Gather three to five existing documents to "feed" a NotebookLM project for more responsive family support (PAS Item 17). Standardize your Brand: Use a Perplexity Space to ensure all public relations tools project a consistent, professional image (PAS Item 18). Reflection Questions: Which administrative task takes the most time away from your interactions with staff and families? How might centralizing marketing materials (branding) impact the professional image to prospective families? Table 1: AI Tools for ECE Professionals
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