Accreditation
Our Compass campuses are proud to offer Quality First Star Rated preschool programs from First Things First, allowing us to offer part and full-time scholarships to qualifying families.
During the 2022-2023 school year, both Maryvale and South Mountain preschools were assessed. South Mountain earned a score of 4.83, and Maryvale earned a score of 5.00. Both preschools are considered QUALITY PLUS programs.
To measure progress in quality improvement and performance, Compass preschools are assessed and given a Star Rating, ranging from 1 to 5 stars, through Quality First, part of First Things First, Arizona’s early childhood agency, committed to the healthy development and learning of young children from birth to age 5. Star Ratings are based on what research shows are the key components of quality early care and education:
· Health and safety practices that promote children’s basic well being
· Skilled teachers who know how to turn everyday experiences into learning moments
· Learning environments with age-appropriate activities, books, toys and other learning materials that promote emotional, social, language and cognitive development
· Opportunities for active play and hands-on exploration throughout the day
· Teacher-child interactions and engaging conversations that build language and promote thinking and social skills
The standards are high. Assessments are comprised of two areas of observation. First is ECERS (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale), consisting of 37 items that are divided into seven subscales: personal care routines, furnishings and display for children, language-reasoning experiences, fine and gross motor activities, creative activities, and social development. The second assessment is CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) consisting of 10 CLASS dimensions: emotional support- positive climate, teacher sensitivity, regard for student perspectives, classroom organization and behavioral management, productivity, instructional learning formats, instructional support-concept development, quality of feedback, and language modeling. Star ratings are determined by calculating all individual scores in each category and dividing by the number of individual responses set by the assessment team.