Child Care Licensing Database

Child Care Aware® of America has launched its Child Care Licensing Database featuring data from state licensing manuals and analysis on each state’s child care regulatory alignment with child care practices.

Maryland EXCELS Branch

Maryland EXCELS (EXcellence Counts in Early Learning and School-age Child Care) is a voluntary Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System that recognizes the accomplishments of early childhood and “school-age only” programs and providers through a set of standards with 5 levels that offer a pathway to high-quality. Maryland EXCELS provides information to families on choosing high-quality child care and education programs and articulates to the public the level of quality in early and school-age only child care and education programs. More than 30 states have developed quality rating and improvement systems and most states are in some phase of development. The Maryland State Department of Education, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education, has developed the Maryland EXCELS website http://www.marylandexcels.org/. The website serves a variety of purposes: Programs use the website to register and apply for participation; Participating programs use the website to upload documentation to verify they meet the criteria in the standards and to connect with their assigned Program Coordinator who assists with the process; Resources and supports for participating programs are available through the website; Families use the website to search for high-quality programs when choosing child care. In addition to the website, a mobile app will be available to families to help them identify participating programs in their local area; The public and community partners use the website to find, collaborate with, and support programs in their local area. Visit Site

Child Care Scholarship Program (Formerly Subsidy Program)

Additional Resources

 

The Maryland Early Education Career Guide

See the Press Release for the Maryland State Department of Education (MDSE) new guide for those seeking a path to Early Childhood Careers.

The Maryland Early Childhood Career Guide is complete and ready for distribution. This guide provides an overview of careers in early childhood education in Maryland. The Direct Services and Supportive Services sections of this document describe specific jobs, including lists of job responsibilities, recommended or required educational requirements, and potential job settings. In the Education Options section, there is information about two- and four-year degrees, training, and other preparation programs and options. Finally, the Grants and Scholarships section explains some of the financial assistance that is available in Maryland to support your career in early childhood education. Please share the Guide with your Early Childhood constituencies.

http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/prek-grade-2/professional-development/careers-early-childhood-education

The direct link to the guide is:
http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/system/files/filedepot/4/careersinec_ed_april_14_2016_final.pdf

MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION UPDATES STATE-RECOMMENDED CURRICULA FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS

PROJECT DESIGNED TO SUPPORT PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

BALTIMORE (June 4, 2014) – The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), responsible for early care and education programs throughout the state, has updated its state-recommended list of early childhood curricula for child care centers, Head Start programs, and nursery schools. In 2007 and 2010, MSDE had posted recommended lists online and provided monetary support for early childhood programs to purchase the curricula. The Department this year embarked on another round of reviews to recommend preschool curricula that demonstrate the best alignment with the new State’s pre-kindergarten and kindergarten curricular frameworks, which constitutes the foundation of the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards. The project is designed to support preschool age children before they start their school careers. MSDE’s Division of Early Childhood Development has created policies and procedures for getting the resources to the providers. “Quality early childhood programs have always worked with curricular resources and often, early childhood providers from the non-public sector ask the Department which curricula to use with three- and four-year-olds,” said Dr. Lillian M. Lowery, State Superintendent of Schools. “We are very excited about this effort to provide guidance to child care and other early childhood programs about the selected early childhood curricula.”

The selected programs now include:

  • Robert-Leslie – InvestiGator Club (ages 3, 4, & 5)
  • Frog Street Inc. – Frog Street Preschool (age 4)
  • MacMillan/McGraw Hill – Little Treasures (age 4)
  • McGraw-Hill Wright Group – DLM Early Childhood Express (ages 3 & 4)
  • Success for All – Kinder Corner (age 5) and Curiosity Corner (age 4)
  • Teaching Strategies – Creative Curriculum for Preschool (ages 3 & 4) and Family Child Care (ages 3, 4, & 5)

The initiative also ensures that the teaching of these resources aligns with the guidelines of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Representatives from the early care and education community, higher education, and public and non-public schools reviewed the submitted curricula for three- to five-year-olds.

State-Recommended Early Childhood Curricula

“We have established a very rigorous review process to determine the soundness of the curricular resources with regard to the state’s expectations of what young children should know and be able to do,” said Dr. Rolf Grafwallner, Assistant State Superintendent for the Division of Early Childhood Development. “The challenge remains of getting these resources to as many child care, Head Start, and nursery programs as possible.” More information about the Early Childhood Curriculum Project and the Curriculum Fund is available online at Early Childhood Curriculum Project.


With Pre-K Expansion on the way, providers will need to have a certified Pre-K teacher in the classroom if you wish to apply for future grant money. If you have staff members that possess a Bachelors degree and are interested in obtaining their teaching certification, take a look at the information below or contact Jenaya Smith. The MAAPP-ECE is a bridge to certification for non-public teachers and career changers desiring certification in Early Childhood Education (ECE). The purpose of the program under the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant is to increase the quality of early childhood programs and the pool of certified ECE educators in child care settings. As a result, there is a 2 year service commitment that must be satisfied upon completion of the MAAPP-ECE program requirements (please see the attached Service Commitment Form). Completion of the MAAPP-ECE program will result in receipt of a Professional Eligibility Certificate (PEC) in Early Childhood Education. The PEC translates to a Standard Professional Certificate (SPC) upon entry into a public school setting. The SPC in ECE enables a candidate to teach Prekindergarten – grade 3 in a public school setting. The MAAPP-ECE classes are offered on weekends (2 Saturdays per month). The mandatory four (4) week internship is completed in the candidate’s current place of employment (must be a licensed child care setting) and in a local public school. Candidates must be employed as the “teacher of note” or have the ability to take over all classroom planning and decision making on a full-time basis during the internship and at other specified times during the residency. MSDE will reimburse for any sub costs associated with participation in the MAAPP-ECE. The program is a cohort model and will take approx. 2 years to complete. Prior to the internship start date (fall/winter 2015) participants must complete all Praxis requirements (Praxis I and Praxis II). Educators with a degree in ECE, Special Ed., or Child Development would need to provide proof of qualifying scores on the Praxis I, SAT, GRE, or ACT. Please see the site below for information about qualifying scores.

http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/divisions/certification/certification_branch/testing_information/praxis1.html

Educators with degrees in any other field (other than ECE, Special Ed., or Child Development) would need to take Praxis II: EC Content Knowledge. You would need to submit qualifying scores from Praxis I or from the SAT, GRE, or ACT. Praxis I is offered on a very consistent basis. Childcare Management Solutions (CMS) http://www.ets.org/praxis/md

Thank you to our Business Members for your continued support throughout the year!

The Maryland State Child Care Association does not endorse any commercial product, process, child care facility or enterprise, by trade name, service mark, manufacturer, provider with current membership in the MSCCA, or otherwise. Links to other websites and reference to any commercial product or enterprise are provided solely for your convenience, and do not constitute or imply MSCCA endorsement, recommendation or exclusive approval thereof. Accordingly, MSCCA does not endorse or assume responsibility for the content provided by any third-party website to which we are linked. The MSCCA website may contain links to website operated by third parties (“Facebook”, “Twitter”). MSCCA does not have any control over Third-Party Websites, each of which may be governed by its own terms of service and privacy policy. MSCCA does not warrant or endorse your use of any Third-Party Website or the content appearing thereon. By visiting or using the Third-Party Websites available through the MSCCA website you assume all responsibility and liability for all resulting harms, whether to You or to any third party, including without limitation as resulting from Your downloading or use of any content, software of other materials available therefrom.

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