QM Annual reports

QUALITY
MATTERS
MONTEREY

2020 - 2021

Annual Report

What is Quality Matters Monterey County?

Quality Matters Monterey County is a quality rating and improvement system
(QRIS), an initiative designed to support child care programs and preschools
to provide the highest quality early learning experiences possible for children
birth through age 5. For Monterey County, specifically, the QRIS is a system
that is built to empower educators, parents, and community members–all
with the goal of setting children up for success

WHAT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE WHY WE EXIST

All children have access to high quality To support and empower programs and
early learning experiences that support educators in providing the highest
their optimal development quality early care and education
possible to children and families.

Learn more about Quality Matters Monterey's
accomplishments by visiting our past annual reports.

Quality Matters Monterey County is a collaborative effort of early learning partners throughout the
community, including First 5 Monterey County; the Monterey County Office of Education; the
Monterey County Child Care Planning Council; the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation

Resource and Referral; North Monterey County Unified School District; California State University,
Monterey Bay; Hartnell College; and Monterey Peninsula College. Each of these partners are
committed to the well being of the children and families in Monterey County, and believe in
building a respectful, responsive, and inclusive early learning system.
Quality Matters Monterey County is operated by the Monterey County Office of Education.

Are you interested in becoming involved in Quality Matters Monterey County?

1 Attending Consortium meetings is a great place to start. Click here to view our calendar

Quality Matters Monterey County exists as a
county initiative that is a part of a statewide
effort known as, Quality Counts California (QCC).

Together,our mission is to strengthen
California’s early learning and care system to

support young children and their families.

Statewide Collaboration and Structure

QCC is a collaboration between First 5 California, the California Department of
Education, and the California Department of Social Services.
Collaborative state and local efforts, including early learning and care workforce,
families of young children, advocates, and agencies, to improve the quality of early
learning and care programs for California’s children.

QCC focuses on quality early learning experiences because those experiences build the foundation for skills
children need in school, work, and life. (Reference: Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child)

2

Meet our 2020-2021 MCOE Early Care & Education Team

Program Coordinators - QRIS Quality Matters

Eliza Gomez

Megan Matteoni

Early Learning Manager - Local Planning Council The Early Care and Education (ECE) team,
including Quality Matters and the Monterey
Laurie Ramirez, Ph.D. County Child Care Planning Council (MCCPP),
both play a critical role in Monterey County's
Early Learning Program Specialist early learning and care system. The ECE team

Gelacio Gonzalez empowers educators to support the
development of young children.
Program Development & Compliance Specialist
Click on the logos to learn more about our programs.
Monica Cano

We lead with our drivers

DEEPER By creating meaningful connections and practicing reflective thinking, we encourage
LEARNING educators to become life long learners and agents of change

EQUITY Through empathy and story listening we understand who the ECE educator of Monterey
County is. We strive to create safe & brave spaces for all.

CAPACITY Our goal is to empower educators through our program so that they begin to advocate
BUILDING for themselves and the importance of high quality early childhood education.

3 Various webinars we offered during 2020-2021. Click on the images to learn more.

What is QRIS?

QRIS is the acronym for a Quality Rating and Improvement System, which provides measures and related
supports designed to evaluate, communicate about, and, as needed, improve the quality of both early care and
education centers and family child care (FCC) homes.

High quality early learning experiences help children grow, develop, and learn. Being a part of Quality Matters
Monterey County means that an early learning program is committed to giving the children they serve high
quality early learning experiences.

Quality Matters supports early learning by: Angie Ramirez, CAPSLO Director

• Creating an ECE focused community space
to learn and thrive together.
• Offering and connecting educators to
professional development opportunities.
• Supporting sites with needed stipends and
materials
• Measuring programs using the California
QRIS Matrix standards.
• Helping parents and caregivers find quality
programs for their children.

Eliza Gomez & Monica Cano, ECE Team Members

A historical data continuum to show the future focus of Quality Matters Monterey County

Centers

FCC

Rated Sites

QI Sites

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22

Less FCC sites participated this year. To meet the high # of QI requests, 8 sites Ratings become optional in 2020.
Ratings becoming a participation barrier. received an internal rating that were not published More FCC sites participate.

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You were not alone- Coaching During Covid Gelacio Gonzalez

"They [the educators] value Quality Matters because they feel the coaching piece supports their growth
and choices. They feel safe to share their experiences with Quality Matters."

Quality Matters has offered in-person coaching since its inception in 2016, but with the onset of the
pandemic, coaching took on a new format with the use of technology. Virtual coaching allowed our
educators to stay connected with their peers and community during a very isolating time. In fact,
offering virtual coaching and webinars opened a window of opportunity for our educators to learn how
to utilize technology more comprehensively which inspired and empowered our educators to pursue
their higher education goals online.

Quality Matters Coach
Patricia Quezada

“When we started coaching in 2016 i remember {a colleague} saying she conducts virtual coaching
sessions to educators in Australia. I always asked myself if that could be successful.. But then COVID hit
and we switched to this. It is different but it works. Both are effective.” Since being vaccinated, coaches
have offered a hybrid option to educators. However, the majority of the educators prefer zoom over in-
person coaching due to its flexibility. Virtual coaching has allowed for more of a work-life balance.
Educators do not have to travel or find their own child care to attend trainings.

Quality Matters Coach

Gabby Jara Transitioning to webinar format for trainings also connected our educators to each other which helped
form an online community of learners during shelter in place. One coach shared, “Our FCC educators
take a lot of webinars, and may not turn on the camera, it is important for them to feel this connection.
To know they are not alone…QM has provided the feeling of, ‘there is someone who can hold me.’”

"When i first start my coaching sessions... I share that coaching is about connection. Its about relationship..."

What are the bene ts of coaching?

Supportive & attentive: 38.5 % Provides training & information: 35.9 %
Helps professional development: 12.8 %

Provides feedback: 12.8 %

Empathy Report

To better serve early education educators, Quality

Matters contracted Pedroso Consulting to conduct an What is difficult or challenging about your job?

empathy study of a random selected group of Quality

Matters educators. The approached used for the study Lack of

was centered around building empathy between the support/resources

interviewer and the interviewee to establish trust and

foster a more honest conversation. Parents

The interview protocol developed asked participants Working with

to reflect on what they like about their work, what colleagues

makes them successful, and what barriers or English fluency &

challenges they encounter in their work. education

Understanding challenges faced by educators

enables QM to plan resources, materials, and trainings Other

to assist educators overcome any challenges and

become better high-quality early education educators. 0 5 10 15

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How we fund our program- 2020-2021 Budget

 With the various grants that fund the initiative, Quality Matters is committed to continuous
improvement investments in Monterey County's early childhood community. The graph
below depicts how the program allocated funds for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

CA-QRIS Grants $1,119,698

Quality Counts CA                              $127,718
First 5 CA IMPACT                              $173,956
Dula Language Learner COVID-19  $29,065
Region 4 QRIS Hub Grant                  $21,455
CA State Preschool Block Grant      $767,504

Total Annual Expenditures

10% Indirect Cost
3.75% Block Awards to QRIS Sites

10% Incentives $1,119,698
6% Technical Assistance Coaches
Staff Salaries & Bene ts
5% PPE, Resources, Materials, Supplies 54%

1% Communication & Outreach 6
.04%Travel/Mileage

10% Professional Development

Quality Matters 2020-2021

Family Child Care sites

62 participating sites

Center based Sites

72 participating sites

2020-2021 Staff
MONTEREY COUNTY
EARLY CHILDHOOD 302 classrooms
985 staff members
INVESTMENTS
Professional Development
Countywide Initiatives
67 web based trainings offered
Early Learning Network 150 hours of web based trainings
75% of trainings offered in Spanish
At the heart of the Early Learning Network sessions is collaboration
and vertical articulation between Preschool, Transitional Coaching

Kindergarten, and Kindergarten educators. Quality Matters is a key 1,227 hours of site coaching
planner and funder of the Early Learning Network.
Environmental Rating Scale Consultations
Monterey Response & Recovery
83 virtual consultations to support with
Quality Matters among many local agencies, engaged in the classroom environment improvements
collaborative efforts to develop and sustain emergency care and
education at the onset of the pandemic with the goal of ensuring ECE educator recieves vaccine Soledad USD preschool educators

that young children have quality, nurturing, and safe care. All in for Equity

Vaccine Clinic Support Empathy Report

The MCOE ECE team supported ECE educators in registering Quality Matters conducted a investigation to learn more about who the QM
for vaccines and managed clinics. They also hosted webinars educator is and what their needs are

with local doctors to share vaccine information and the QMMC Consortium Meetings
benefits of receiving.
The Quality Matters introduced the goals of anti bias curriculum and took a
Child Care Accessibility Project deep dive into what it means to be anti-racist/anti-bias in ECE.

As a sponsor, Quality Matters helped to fund the Monterey Anti-bias Book Study
County Child Care website. This project was a collaborative
effort to help families find quality care within Monterey County. Quality Matters hosted a book study to explore the Anti-Bias Education for
Young Children & Ourselves book
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All in for Equity Conference

April 10, 2021 Equitable Early Care & Education: Planting Seeds for Change

Become an Advocate for ECE MAOF Early Learning Centers

Quality Matters Monterey County is committed to working with the community to support
our early educators to provide high quality early learning experiences to all children.

When a program or educator tells you that they are participating in Quality Matters, know
that their participation is completely voluntary! All of the educators and programs enrolled in
Quality Matters are committed to providing your child with the best care and early learning
experiences possible.

Join our efforts and invest in early childhood education to
ensure a better future for Monterey County.

• Join the Quality Matters Consortium

• Be a community voice for early childhood education

• Sponsor and support legislation that expand resources and incentivize quality

• Partner with us to expand professional development opportunities for educators

It is time to

Strengthen Advocate for Support
Collaborations children families

Learn more at www.qualitymattersmonterey.org

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Quality Matters thrives with our collective values at our core.

Shared Ownership
Collaboration and Integration

Capacity Building
Inclusion

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
Creativity

Transparency and Consistency
Alignment and Articulation
Family Engagement
Relationship-based
Non Competitive
Advocacy and Policy

BECOME A MEMBER OF

QUALITY
MATTERS

www.qualitymattersmonterey.org