Quality Rated is Georgia’s system to determine, improve, and communicate the quality of programs that provide child care. Similar to rating systems for restaurants and hotels, Quality Rated assigns one, two or three stars to early education and school-age care programs that meet or exceed the minimum state requirements. By participating in Georgia’s voluntary Quality Rated program, programs make a commitment to work continuously to improve the quality of care they provide to children and families.
Quality Rated gives parents and families greater confidence in their child care choice because independent, credentialed experts in early education have assessed whether programs follow best practices, such as:
- Employing qualified and well-trained teachers
- Providing a safe, healthy and caring environment
- Implementing individualized instruction
- Offering a curriculum that prepares children for kindergarten
- A focus on both active learning and social-emotional development
- Engaging families
- Providing a low teacher-student ratio
Quality Rated
Any program with a star rating participates in Georgia’s Quality Rated and has agreed to meet standards that exceed the licensing requirements. While any rated program is of high quality, the stars mean:
One star - Program has demonstrated a commitment to meeting standards that exceed state health and safety requirements, meets several quality benchmarks, and scores sufficiently on the independent observation.
Two stars - Program has demonstrated a commitment to meeting standards that exceed state health and safety requirements, meets many quality benchmarks, and scores well on the independent observation.
Three stars - Program has demonstrated a commitment to meeting standards that exceed state health and safety requirements, meets numerous quality benchmarks, and scores high on the independent observation.
In Sept 2018, DECS Childcare has been awarded their second star in the Quality Rated process. We continue to make improvements to the facility, the individual classroom environments as well as encourage all of our staff members to higher their level of education and increase their understanding of child development and early childcare practices.