Getting Ready for the BAS Online

McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Jill Bella | January 15, 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

We’re excited to announce a new training opportunity on the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS) that can take place in your own home or anywhere you have internet access! Now you can get a basic understanding of the BAS, a tool used to measure and improve business and professional practices in family child care programs, by registering for the Getting Ready for the BAS module.


The Getting Ready for the BAS module is a self-paced, online module that takes about 5 hours to complete. We designed this resource for family child care providers who are getting ready for a formal BAS assessment or just want to learn about best practices. It is also a great tool for those who provide technical assistance to providers or teach courses on family child care.


Through expert guidance, activities, and resources, you’ll learn why business and professional practices are important to improving and maintaining quality in family child care programs. You’ll also get a brief overview of each item in the BAS and learn how to score the items. In addition, you will learn how to use the BAS to develop a program improvement plan.

The blue logo for the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood, featuring a stylized letter M next to the organization name.
By Emilie Austin April 13, 2026
Emilie Austin is the Manager of Learning Experience Design and Innovation for the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University. In this role, she leads the design, development, and implementation of innovative instructional solutions that enhance learning outcomes and advance the Institute’s mission to strengthen early childhood leadership and practice. Emilie collaborates with subject matter experts, trainers, and institutional partners to create engaging, accessible, and research-informed learning experiences across multiple modalities, including e-learning, blended, and instructor-led formats. As part of her work, Emilie champions the integration of emerging technologies and pedagogical best practices such as AI-driven personalization, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and competency-based education to foster meaningful learning experiences for professionals in the early childhood field. She also provides leadership in continuous quality improvement, supporting data-informed design and innovation across MIEC programs. She is passionate about advancing equitable, learner-centered education and empowering educators through creative and effective instructional design.
Show More