All About the ERS Assessment Team for Delaware Stars

The Delaware Stars ERS Assessment Team plays an important role in helping Delaware Stars program practitioners improve the quality of early learning offered to the infants, toddlers and preschoolers in their care.  The highly trained assessors visit the Stars programs throughout the state and, using the observational tools of the Environment Rating Scales (ERS), assess the quality of early childcare and education programs.  

• The Infant-Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R) is used to assess childcare setting serving children 6 weeks through 30 months.
• The assessors use the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) to assess classrooms serving children 30 months to 60 months.
• The School-Age Environment Rating Scale is used to assess school-age only programs.
• The Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale-Revised (FCCERS-R) is used to assess family child care and large family childcare programs.  

The ERS assessment takes approximately three to four hours. Based on the rating scale guidleines, the assessor observes the program, noting the interactions between children and adults, the activities presented and the materials used. Following the observation, a teacher interview takes place to capture information that may not be evident during the observation.  

The information gathered during the observation is used to help childcare practitioners identify program strengths and opportunities to improve program quality.  In this way the ERS Assessment Team members become partners with the childcare providers in improving quality learning in Delaware.

DAEYC Welcomes New Executive Director 

Join us in welcoming Valerie A. Jermusyk, Administrator of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children.  She joined DAEYC in December after serving two years at Girls Inc. of Delaware in the roles of Director of Advancement and Interim Executive Director. She also has served as the Director of Development at the Delaware College of Art and Design, and Director of Marketing and Director of Membership at DCCA. She is passionate about human rights, equality and opportunities for all and is enjoying her new role working in an organization which is a key partner in the development of an enhanced early learning system in Delaware.    

Connecting Generations Seeks Input on Workshop Topics 

Connecting Generations is a nonprofit organization pairing adult mentors with children and youth to promote positive social and emotional development. Our experience and a growing body of research has shown the importance of introducing social and emotional skills in early childhood as key to academic success.

A key component to Delaware's commitment to create and sustain a comprehensive early childhood system for all Delaware children and their families is the professional development of child care providers.To that end, Connecting Generations is exploring possible topics for professional development workshops. We have developed the survey linked below and are asking that Delaware child care providers - teachers, assistants and directors - take a few moments and share your opinions on the topics we are proposing.

Your input is vital to this process. Connecting Generations will use the information from the survey to create workshops that provide relevant and informative training that aligns with the goals Delaware's officials have outlined in the "Early Foundations for Success" and in "Sustaining Early Success: Delaware's Strategic Plan for a Comprehensive Early Childhood System".

Here is the survey link. Contact Cindy LaRock 302.656.2122 x 16 or clarock@connecting-generations.org with any questions or comments regarding this upcoming series of training sessions or the survey.