ABC Quality is a voluntary rating and improvement program administered by the Division of Early Care and Education of the SC Department of Social Services. The goal is to help providers offer the best possible care for children and to communicate to families the level of quality a child care center provides.
ABC Quality providers can receive training, grants, and other resources to improve the quality of care they provide to children and their families.
Why is ABC Quality important?
Research has shown that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important in an individual’s development. These five years lay the foundation for an individual’s development through life. One study shows that young children who attended higher quality early care and education programs had better language development, problem solving, and social skills.
Implementing ABC Quality recognizes child care providers who go above and beyond the state requirements and encourage providers to aspire to the highest child care standards. Over time, ABC Quality can help raise the overall level of child care quality in South Carolina. In addition, families can make a more informed choice by having access to information about the level of quality programming their child would receive at the chosen child care center.
What is ABC Quality’s rating scale?
There are 5 levels in ABC Quality: C,B,B+,A, and A+. Level C providers meet the mandated standards of child care, while level A+ providers surpass mandated standards and meet the highest quality child care standards in the state.
With level A and A+ providers, one can expect:
Highly qualified teachers and ongoing development
Well thought out teaching and learning activities
Catering learning to an individual level
Thorough health and safety policies
Engaging and involving families in the development of the child
HiMama + South Carolina’s ABC Quality
Numerous early childhood programs in South Carolina use HiMama in their licensed child care facilities to meet expectations set out by ABC Quality. How your center chooses to use HiMama will vary based on the unique circumstances of your community, families, educators and attending children. However, we’ve provided some guidance on how HiMama will assist your early childhood program in achieving a higher rating.
KEY AREAS OF A CHILD CARE PROVIDER
HIMAMA APPLICATION
Director/teaching staff qualifications and ongoing development
Increase retention of high-level staff through teacher empowerment
Staff is applying mobile technology in the classroom to better align with expectations of the families
Provides professional growth and development activities, through numerous HiMama resources, including weekly blog articles, weekly podcasts for leaders in early childhood education, white papers and reports
Components of staff performance can be evaluated through the HiMama app, including classroom documentation quality and interactions with families
Family engagement
HiMama enables early childhood programs to connect parents with the classroom by inviting them to participate in children’s experiences and in turn build all around trusting partnerships
Parents receive automatic individual updates and reports about their child’s experience and development in the early childhood program, including assessments to reflect on a child’s readiness for transitions to new programs or into school age programs
HiMama has created a parent handbook template that includes risk management strategies and communication plans
Teaching practices and early learning programming
Assistance with lesson planning, developmental observations, online portfolios and development reports
HiMama electronic portfolios and development assessment reports can be shared with parents on an as-needed basis or by the schedule set by the early learning center / program
Visual documentation of classroom activities assists in evaluation of classroom setup and learning activities
Assess gaps in programming across learning domains
Process quality
The HiMama application saves on average 5 hours per teacher per week. Therefore, teachers can dedicate more time to observing and promoting interactions in the classroom that spur developmental growth for children.
Intuitive lesson planning features empower teachers to be organized and follow through on their lesson plans to maximize children’s learning experiences.
How do I find the closest ABC Quality rated program?
To find an ABC Quality rated program near you, a parent or caregiver can visit South Carolina’s ABC Quality website.
HiMama makes documentation and reporting of children’s learning and development in alignment with South Carolina's Learning Standards quick and easy so that educators can spend less time on documentation and paperwork and more time with children.
Learn how HiMama can help you align to South Carolina's quality guidelines without all the paperwork and late nights.
What is South Carolina's ABC Quality?
What is South Carolina's ABC Quality?
February 10, 2017 | By Tom Tu
ABC Quality providers can receive training, grants, and other resources to improve the quality of care they provide to children and their families.
Why is ABC Quality important?
Research has shown that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important in an individual’s development. These five years lay the foundation for an individual’s development through life. One study shows that young children who attended higher quality early care and education programs had better language development, problem solving, and social skills.
Implementing ABC Quality recognizes child care providers who go above and beyond the state requirements and encourage providers to aspire to the highest child care standards. Over time, ABC Quality can help raise the overall level of child care quality in South Carolina. In addition, families can make a more informed choice by having access to information about the level of quality programming their child would receive at the chosen child care center.
What is ABC Quality’s rating scale?
There are 5 levels in ABC Quality: C,B,B+,A, and A+. Level C providers meet the mandated standards of child care, while level A+ providers surpass mandated standards and meet the highest quality child care standards in the state.
With level A and A+ providers, one can expect:
HiMama + South Carolina’s ABC Quality
Numerous early childhood programs in South Carolina use HiMama in their licensed child care facilities to meet expectations set out by ABC Quality. How your center chooses to use HiMama will vary based on the unique circumstances of your community, families, educators and attending children. However, we’ve provided some guidance on how HiMama will assist your early childhood program in achieving a higher rating.
How do I find the closest ABC Quality rated program?
To find an ABC Quality rated program near you, a parent or caregiver can visit South Carolina’s ABC Quality website.
HiMama makes documentation and reporting of children’s learning and development in alignment with South Carolina's Learning Standards quick and easy so that educators can spend less time on documentation and paperwork and more time with children. Learn how HiMama can help you align to South Carolina's quality guidelines without all the paperwork and late nights.
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