VQB5 Implementation Guide for Program Leaders Practice ...



righttopPractice Year 1 (2021-2022)0100000Practice Year 1 (2021-2022)-1905006569075With the launch of Practice Year 1, the Unified Measurement and Improvement System has an official new name; The Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System. We will abbreviate the name as VQB5.This guide provides information for program leaders and administrators to help you and your staff have a successful experience in VQB5. 020000With the launch of Practice Year 1, the Unified Measurement and Improvement System has an official new name; The Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System. We will abbreviate the name as VQB5.This guide provides information for program leaders and administrators to help you and your staff have a successful experience in VQB5. left1977571VQB5 Implementation Guide for Program Leaders Practice Year 1 2021-2022900007300VQB5 Implementation Guide for Program Leaders Practice Year 1 2021-20222199583317862900 INTRODUCTIONVirginia’s early childhood system must ensure that all children have quality teaching and learning experiences that meet their unique needs. To do this, Virginia is building a unified system that recognizes the impact of every classroom, provides feedback to every educator, and supports all publicly funded birth-to-five programs to improve. VQB5 will strengthen the quality of teaching and learning experiences in early childhood programs that serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. VQB5 sets shared expectations for measuring quality and supporting teachers for all birth to five programs. Through VQB5, teachers and leaders will receive the feedback and support they need to help young children learn.MEASURING QUALITYVQB5 will measure the quality of infant, toddler, and preschool teaching and learning based on two nationally-recognized quality indicators; Interactions and Curriculum.INTERACTIONSCURRICULUMTeacher-child interactions will be measured in a developmentally appropriate way using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Curriculum will be measured by recognizing programs that use approved curricula that are aligned with Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards Interactions and curriculum were chosen because research shows high quality teacher-child interactions and quality early childhood curriculum promote children’s learning and development, resulting in improved school readiness.PRACTICE YEARS VQB5 will have two practice years. This will allow each program the chance to practice collecting information and receiving feedback. Practice Year 1 will take place from July 2021 through June 2022. Results from Practice Year 1 will be shared with programs in the fall of 2022. These results will allow you and your staff to learn about the new measurement process. A second practice year (Practice Year 2) will take place from July 2022-June 2023. Beginning in July 2023, all birth-to-five programs that take public dollars will be required to participate in VQB5 (for example, programs that participate in child care subsidy, Virginia Preschool Initiative, funding from Head Start, or others). Programs that do not receive public funds will have the option to participate.Programs must be in a PDG community to participate in Practice Year 1. Your program will need to complete the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) registration process using the LinkB5 data portal. Programs that are not in a PDG community will have the opportunity to participate in Practice Year 2.The PDG registration period is August 2nd-Sept. 17th. PDG Community Leads will contact you with registration instructions in July. For VQB5, a program is defined as one site or location. Each program (e.g., each public school location, each child care center, etc.) completes a profile in LinkB5 during PDG registration. BENEFITS OF PRACTICE YEAR PARTICIPATIONBy participating in Practice Year 1, your program will:Receive feedback on the teacher-child interactions in every infant, toddler and preschool classroom, including family day homes.Access support to improve teacher-child interactions and curriculum, such as training, coaching, and other resources. Receive incentives for participation for certain eligible teachers.VQB5 PARTNERSThe following list provides an overview of the partners who will support your program during Practice Year 1.VQB5 Support PartnersPrimary Role & Responsibilities in VQB5Website/Contact InformationVirginia Department of Education (VDOE)VDOE developed the unified measurement and improvement system, called VQB5. The VDOE provides funding and support for VQB5 and participating programs. Website : Building a Unified Early Childhood ProgramPrimary Contact: Kris Meyers, Associate Director of Quality Measurement and Improvement kris.meyers@doe. Preschool Development Grant Communities (PDG)PDG communities coordinate the efforts of VQB5 at the local level. Each PDG community has a lead contact that is responsible for sharing information with participating programs and community partners. Website: Virginia Early Childhood Foundation - Preschool Development Grant Local PDG Contact: Use this list to find the PDG community contact information for your location. LinkB5 TeamLinkB5 is a website that connects communities of early childhood providers and is the home of VQB5. The LinkB5 Team provides on-demand resources as well as live technical support to help participants complete data entry tasks.Website : LinkB5 Login pagePrimary Contact: linkb5support@virginia.edu1-833-554-6525?Live technical support accessible from the LinkB5 website. Improvement PartnersPDG communities work with a variety of existing improvement partners in Virginia to coordinate professional development activities to help programs improve in interactions and curriculum.Websites for Improvement Partners:Advancing Effective Interactions and Instruction (AEII)Virginia QualityInfant Toddler Specialist Network (ITSN) Training and Technical Assistance Centers (TTAC)(Contact PDG Lead for additional improvement partners in your area)PRACTICE YEAR 1 ACTIVITIESThere are three primary activities that your program will need to complete during Practice Year 1 of the Unified VQB5 System.ACTIVITY #1 - Access and Use LinkB5 - The LinkB5 data portal is the website where programs register for PDG and enter information required for VQB5. Registration includes creating program and classroom profiles.Site Administrators and teachers will create profiles. CLASS scores from fall and spring observations and information about curriculum use will be entered in LinkB5.ACTIVITY #2 - Prepare for and Complete Local CLASS Observations - Each classroom will have two local CLASS observations in Practice Year 1, one in the fall and one in the spring. PDG Communities will coordinate and schedule your local observations. The CLASS tool is used to measure and improve the quality of teacher-child interactions in every infant, toddler and preschool classroom, including family day homes.Infant CLASS will be used to observe classrooms/programs that serve birth-18 months Toddler CLASS will be used to observe classrooms/programs that serve 15-36 monthsPre-K CLASS will be used to observe classrooms/programs that serve 3-5 year old’s.Mixed Age Settings, such as family day homes, use the CLASS tool that aligns with the age of the majority of children served.If you or your teachers are new to CLASS, your PDG Community will provide opportunities for Foundational CLASS training before being observed. A few randomly selected classrooms will also receive an external CLASS observation, coordinated through AEII. This would be in addition to the two local observations and will provide additional feedback for program leaders and teachers.ACTIVITY #3 - Plan to Access and Use an Approved Curriculum - VQB5 will recognize programs that use an approved curriculum in at least one classroom during Practice Year 1. You will need to enter your program’s curriculum information in the LinkB5 data portal by May 31, 2022. The VDOE has developed a review process to measure and approve early childhood curriculum. Programs can find information about the curriculum review process on the VDOE Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction webpage.Curriculum reviews are based on national research for effective curricula and. alignment with Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards.Review the list of currently approved curriculum. (Please note, this list will continue to be updated during the 2021-2022 year). Information on purchasing and using approved curricula will be available from the VDOE throughout the year. ACTIVITY TIMELINEThe chart below summarizes what programs need to do during each phase of Practice Year 1.SUMMER 2021 FOCUS - Register in LinkB5 between August 2nd-Sept. 17th and prepare for fall CLASS ObservationsLINKB5 - Complete program and teacher registration profiles in LinkB5 by Sept. 17th.CLASS - Prepare for CLASS observations by completing training. Foundational training is coordinated by your PDG Community. CURRICULUM -Plan to use an approved curriculum in at least one classroom by May 31, 2022. FALL 2021 FOCUS - Complete local fall CLASS observations in every infant, toddler and preschool classroom and family day home between August 23rd, 2021-Dec. 17th ,2021LINKB5 – Ensure that scores from fall CLASS observations are entered and approved in LinkB5 by Dec. 17th. CLASS - As fall local observations are completed in each classroom, review the observation feedback with your teachers to identify strengths and areas to work on. CURRICULUM -Plan to use an approved curriculum in at least one classroom by May 31, 2022. WINTER 2022FOCUS - Use information from fall to engage in professional development based on program and classroom needs. LINKB5 - N/ACLASS - Engage teachers in professional development activities to support quality improvement goals. CURRICULUM - Plan to use an approved curriculum in at least one classroom by May 21, 2022. SPRING 2022 FOCUS - Complete local spring CLASS observations in every infant, toddler and preschool classroom and family day home between Jan. 17th -June 10th 2022.LINKB5 - Update lists of teachers and classrooms, including information about curriculum use (if needed). Ensure that scores from spring CLASS observations are entered and approved in LinkB5 by June 10th.CLASS - As local observations are completed in each classroom, review the observation feedback with your teachers to identify strengths and areas to work on. CURRICULUM - Update curriculum information in LinkB5 classroom profiles by May 31st, 2021 (if needed)END OF YEAR REFLECTION Use your fall and spring CLASS results, along with curriculum information to think about what worked well this year and what you need to continue to work on to prepare for Practice Year 2.EXPECTATIONS for PRACTICE YEAR 1During the summer of 2022, VDOE will use the scores from both of the local CLASS observations (fall and spring scores), along with the curriculum information to calculate the overall program practice year rating. VQB5 Practice Year 1 ratings will be shared with programs in the fall of 2022 for information only.Programs will receive one rating based on the information collected from each classroom during the practice year. This means each school site, childcare center, or family day home will receive a practice year program rating specific to their physical location. The following point system will be used to determine the overall program rating for Practice Year 1:Interactions Points(700 total points) Average local CLASS observation scores (average for all classrooms at a site) x 100 Curriculum Points(100 total points) Programs using an approved curriculum in at least one classroom will receive 100 points added to their scoreTotal PointsInteractions Points + Curriculum Points = Total PointsVQB5 Practice Year RatingExceeds Practice Year Expectations = 700 - 800 points Meets Practice Year Expectations = 400 - 699 pointsNeeds Support = 100 - 399 pointsPractice year results will help you and your teachers understand the connection between teacher-child interactions, instruction, and child outcomes. Local partners will help you identify strengths and prioritize needs. State level results from Practice Year 1 will be used to make sure VQB5 is equitable for all program types, as well as to improve the system for future years. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CYCLEAn important feature of VQB5 is that measurement and improvement are ongoing. You and your staff will have many opportunities to reflect on your progress during the year using a continuous quality improvement cycle.PREPARE: All teachers and leaders prepare for the annual cycle of measurement by learning about what will be measured and why it’s important. This includes learning about the CLASS tool and the quality curriculum review process. MEASURE: All infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms, including family day homes are observed with the CLASS tool. Information about curriculum is also collected to understand the experience of all children.FEEDBACK: Each time a classroom is observed, feedback is provided to the teacher(s) and program leaders. Feedback includes information about classroom strengths and areas for growth. SUPPORT: Program leaders and teachers are able to identify and access professional development supports that meet the unique needs of their program. REFLECTION: As the measurement cycle for the year closes and results are shared, educators reflect on the successes and challenges of the past year. Programs begin to prepare for the next annual measurement and improvement cycle based on their reflections. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSWhat is the definition of ‘publicly funded provider’?"Publicly funded provider" means any educational program provided by a school division or government for children between birth and age five. This includes all federal, state and local government funding sources that support direct early childhood care and educational services for young children. See VQB5 Participation FAQ’s for additional information and a list of public funding sources in Virginia. What is covered during Foundational CLASS training? Foundational CLASS training is introductory level training for teachers and program leaders who are new to the CLASS tool. Foundational CLASS training for teachers focuses on the CLASS tool that covers the age level of the children in their classroom. It explains how the CLASS tool organizes interactions for a specific age level. It also explains what teachers can expect during an observation. Foundational CLASS training for program leaders focuses on CLASS tools for different age levels in the program. It explains how leaders can use the CLASS tool to set program goals and guide improvement efforts. To access free Foundational CLASS training and resources, please contact your PDG Community Lead.When will we receive feedback after our local CLASS observations?The observer (or assigned feedback provider) will schedule a time to meet with each teacher or teaching team. This typically occurs within 2 weeks of the observation.Will our program need to buy a new curriculum for Practice Year 1?Programs that do not have a curriculum should NOT rush to buy one from the approved curriculum list. The VDOE will provide support in accessing free or low cost approved curricula options during Practice Year 1 (2021-2022). Once developed, this will be available to all program types seeking to meet the VQB5 curriculum expectation.HELPFUL RESOURCES VQB5 INFORMATION VDOE Building a Unified Early Childhood System Preschool Development Grant (PDG) LinkB5 Resources CLASS Why CLASS? (e-book) CLASS Tips & Resources for Teachers Head Start In-Service Suites aligned with CLASS Family Child Care & CLASS CLASS Spanish Suite Using CLASS in Inclusive Early Childhood Programs Using CLASS with Dual Language Learners VDOE Local CLASS Observation Guidebook Teachstone’s Virginia Support website HYPERLINK "" Advancing Effective Interactions and Instruction (AEII)CURRICULUMVDOE Early Childhood Curriculum & Instruction Website HYPERLINK "" Measuring Quality Curricula (AEII) Curriculum and CLASS Crosswalks Head Start/ECLKC Curriculum Resources Implementing Curriculum in a Responsive Environment, Birth to 5 NAEYC High Quality Curriculum Information ZERO to THREE: Infant/Toddler Curriculum & Individualization ................
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