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State Hopes Pre-K Program Ratings Will Boost Quality

Tribune photo by JIM REED

Iris Burgos, the director of the Brighter Beginning Early Childhood Center in Tampa, reads to children at the center that has been graded by the state on their list of VPK providers.

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By MICHELE SAGER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 19, 2009

TAMPA - State leaders hope a scoring system will promote the importance of quality preschool and help parents choose the right programs.

The Florida Department of Education recently released the latest scores for centers that participate in the Voluntary Prekindergarten program. The program offers free preschool for any 4-year-old through state-approved providers.

The latest statistics show the effect of a voluntary prekindergarten program. According to figures released last month, 54 percent of students who completed Florida's voluntary prekindergarten program last year demonstrated overall classroom readiness.

Any private or nonprofit center can apply to become a voluntary prekindergarten and must meet guidelines set by the state. Students who complete the program are tested to determine if they are ready for kindergarten.

There are nearly 350 center scores in Hillsborough County alone, ranked on a scale of 0 to 300. The readiness rating is based on how well students perform in three key early learning areas: alphabet recognition, sound recognition and classroom readiness.

About 15 percent of the state's providers are considered low-performing. Providers scoring below 214 are deemed low-performing.

In Hillsborough, 54 providers are considered low-performing, with Angel Face Child Care in Tampa scoring the lowest. The center earned a 71 this year. Nine providers in Hillsborough scored a perfect 300.

"This is a tool that will help parents find quality providers," said Shan Goff, executive director of the Florida Department of Education's Office of Early Learning. "Parents can search by county, zip code or provider name."

Once parents find a provider on the state site, they can click on a detailed report explaining why a center obtained the readiness score.

Providers classified as low-performing two years in a row are placed on probation and must put together improvement plans. Providers whose readiness scores don't improve by Year 4 can no longer offer voluntary prekindergarten.

But providers caution parents about concentrating on just the rating, claiming the system is far from perfect.

"I think it's a helpful tool for parents, but the number doesn't tell the whole story," said Iris Burgos, director for Brighter Beginning Early Childhood Center in Tampa. Her center scored a 260 for its school-year program but only earned a 186 for the summer program.

"It doesn't take into account factors you can't control, like language barriers and family life," she said. "I can tell the parents their children need to attend every day, but if they don't come, there is little I can do and that affects the rating."

Burgos said the best thing parents can do is to visit providers.

"Check out the look of the facility," she said. "Are there books? Is the staff licensed? Do they follow a particular curriculum? The best tool for parents is often their gut feelings about a place."

Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-1523.

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