Our Initiatives
Strengthening Quality
We will ensure all components are in place to coordinate quality measurement and guide improvement in publicly funded classrooms as part of the Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (VQB5).
To prepare all children for kindergarten and in response to state law, Virginia has developed the Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (VQB5) to measure and help improve the quality of all publicly-funded birth-to-five classrooms and support families to choose quality programming across program types.
All publicly-funded birth-to-five early childhood programs are required to participate in VQB5 on an annual basis. Programs that do not receive public funding have the option to participate. Details available on the VQB5 Participation Requirements webpage.
VQB5 Quality Profiles (with information about early childhood program performance on quality measures and other topics of interest to families, policy makers, and the public) are now publicly available.
Ready Regions coordinate and support participation in VQB5 for early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs in the region.
To enroll in VQB5:
The Virginia Department of Education administers VQB5 as established by the Virginia Board of Education. To learn more, visit the VDOE Quality Measurement and Improvement (VQB5) website or e-mail vqb5@doe.virginia.edu.
the age of five
residing in
Ready Region
Blue Ridge.44,161*
Increasing Access
We will administer Mixed Delivery programming in the region, and coordinate enrollment to help parents learn about and access ECCE programs that meet their needs and preferences, while helping ECCE providers connect with families.
Ready Region Blue Ridge identifies high quality child care centers and family day homes to provide publicly funded services in private settings that meet the needs and preferences of families.
Quality early learning experiences are essential for preparing children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. This impact is life-long – research has shown that children who participate in high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs are more likely to finish college, be gainfully employed, and be healthier later in life. The Mixed Delivery program provides publicly funded ECCE services in licensed (non-faith-based), private ECCE settings for eligible children. It funds full-day, year-round ECCE services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, meeting growing demand for publicly funded ECCE at private sites that meet the varied needs and preferences of families.
Ready Regions is working to “coordinate enrollment” across publicly funded ECCE programs in the region, such as Child Care Centers and Family Child Care Homes (including those participating in VECF’s Mixed Delivery program), Head Start, Virginia Preschool Initiative, and others to:
- Help parents easily learn where there are available spots for their children, what they qualify for, and information such as cost, hours, and location.
- Help ECCE providers keep enrollment numbers high, communicate when they have spots available, and be able to cover the true costs of quality services.
households in
Ready Region
Blue Ridge.15,878*
Engaging Families
We support a Family Council, made up of families from across our region, who reflect the diversity of our region, to ensure the early childhood system is designed to work for families.
Our Family Council provides input on early childhood design and decisions, and helps our Ready Region understand and better meet families’ needs.
Building Relationships
We will engage with leaders across the region to facilitate buy-in for shared accountability and benefit. Ready Region Blue Ridge is committed to partnering with other organizations and stakeholders to implement this work.
Our partners include:
