Star Rating
Victory Learning Center
We are very excited to announce to our families and VLC staff that we received our star assessment rating! Although we were not awarded the 3 star rating that we had hoped for, we saw some amazing things we are doing well and also learned how to make our center the 3 star center we all know it is! We are very pleased to share this news with you!
Our DHS representative was very encouraging. She said for our first year we did very well on the evaluation. After the assessment took place she informed us that they make it very hard on new centers to get stars on their first year. How encouraging that we scored so high for our first time when not knowing what to expect!
Below you will see a chart displaying that there are 6 different components that we are critiqued on, and out of those 6, we earned the highest rating you can get, a 3! In order to achieve the 3 star overall rating we are striving for, we had to receive a minimum score of 4 on the overall program assessment, which we scored an amazing 3.72.
| 1. Director Qualifications |
3 Stars |
| 2. Professional Development |
3 Stars |
| 3. Compliance History |
3 Stars |
| 4. Parent/Family Involvement |
3 Stars |
| 5. Ratio and Group Size |
3 Stars |
| 6. Staff Compensation |
3 Stars |
| 7. Program Assessment |
3.72 |
***An agency must receive at least a one star in both Compliance History and Program Assessment to be eligible for rating.
While we are disappointed to say we didn't get the 3 star rating, we worked for over a year at fulfilling a high standard on a daily basis so as not to have a "just on assessment day mentality". We opened our doors in September, 2008. From the very beginning we have followed all the rules, policies & procedures of DHS as well as the rules & policies of the TN 3 Star Rating. By pairing our last year of hard work with the learning experience that we have had this week on our assessment, we are confident that when we have our next DHS visit, we will officially be a 3 Star Center.
Listed below are the areas that we have room to improve to attain our goal in our program assessment:
1. Toddler I class & Pre-K- if parents send lunch we have an opportunity to work with you on providing a balanced diet. We will be working closer with all our VLC parents on what that means for you and for our young ones.
2. Our playground surfacing - They would like to see the pea gravel deeper and also something other than grass in the toddler area.
3. Shot Records- Every time you take your child in for shots we ask that we get an official updated copy of those shots as soon as they occur.
4. Hand washing in the Pre-K class- The Pre-K room is the only room without running water. So every time you wipe a child’s nose without going down the hall to wash your hands, it was noticed. Also, we send the kids to the bathroom before lunch to wash their hands and every single one of them touched the wall on the way to the lunchroom & this was rated as if they never washed their hands before eating. Until the funds are available to bring running water to the classroom, we have added portable water stations that the teachers will fill up.
5. Teacher Interviews- We had no idea what to expect or how to prepare our teachers for their interviews with the assessors. Pastor Beth got to sit in on this time and now knows exactly how to prepare all staff for future evaluations.
This year, we have learned a lot and have not wasted any time working on resolving every concern. While a few minor things prevented us from having our stars this year, we are encouraged by the great things our evaluator had to say. We have taken the initiative to make the changes that will ensure our 3 star rating next time! We want to thank all of our children, parents, and staff for all the wonderful and rewarding times and hard work from this past year! We are looking forward to making 2010 our Star Year!