St. Luke Child Development Center has been recognized by Nebraska Step Up to Quality for its commitment to quality child care and education. This means we are going above and beyond state licensing requirements to better serve the needs of your child and prepare them for success.
Why does this matter?
Did you know that 90% of brain development occurs before age 5?
The type of child care you choose for your child can have a big impact on their future. Early learning builds the foundation for skills needed in school, work and life, and studies show the benefits of early learning extend far beyond kindergarten. Children who receive quality early care are more likely to show improved reading and math skills, graduate high school, attend college, have a job and earn higher wages.
Step Up to Quality helps bring Nebraska to a higher level of child care compared to other states. Step Up to Quality programs go beyond what is required because they strive to do better for their children’s and families’ futures.
What is Step Up to Quality?
Step Up to Quality is Nebraska’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) to assess and improve the level of quality of early childhood programs, above and beyond state licensing requirements for child care centers. Programs are awarded quality ratings for meeting a defined set of program standards. Step Up to Quality is voluntary. St. Luke chooses to go this extra mile for our families. The process of attaining each level is difficult and it can take years to achieve all of the ratings.
Besides providing the tools and a process for maintaining and increasing quality, Step Up to Quality also includes coaching resources for directors and includes ways to teach professional development, provides resources for child care teachers, and helps directors and teachers stay abreast of new ideas in the early childhood field.
Where can I learn more?
On their web page, Step Up to Quality lists what quality looks like in an early childhood program. To view the list and learn more about Step Up to Quality, visit: stepuptoquality.ne.gov
