Professional Development & Technical Assistance

Maryland EXCELS offers a variety of resources to support and empower programs to be successful. Our goal is to build the capacity of early childhood and school-age child care providers to deliver high quality child care and early education experiences for all children through virtual and face-to-face professional development and technical assistance opportunities.

Maryland EXCELS Program Coordinators

Upon acceptance into Maryland EXCELS, programs are assigned a Program Coordinator to provide guidance, support and technical assistance as they progress through the Maryland EXCELS process. In addition to rating documents uploaded by the program, your Program Coordinator provides telephone and email consultation regarding the Maryland EXCELS system and standards.

Maryland EXCELS Quality Assurance Specialists

Your regional Quality Assurance Specialist (QAS) provides on-site, phone and email support to programs participating in Maryland EXCELS. In addition, Quality Assurance Specialists offer virtual training sessions on a variety of topics to support child care center and family child care providers. Training sessions are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education’s Office of Child Care. Maryland EXCELS participants who meet the requirements of the training receive Core of Knowledge hours and a certificate to meet ongoing professional development and Credential training requirements. Take advantage of virtual Maryland EXCELS Training (sign up through monthly emails sent to Maryland EXCELS programs), Work Groups, and technical assistance. Your Quality Assurance Specialist is here to help you reach higher ratings.

Continuous Quality Improvement Visits

At quality ratings 1, 2, and 3, programs are required to have one observation visit every three years. These are called Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Visits and they are intended to allow your Quality Assurance Specialist to get to know your program, discuss your goals, and provide feedback and resources to support your growth. Information from your CQI Visit will help you develop a Program Improvement Plan.

At quality ratings 4 and 5, programs are required to have a CLASS® assessment. These visits focus on measuring the quality of child-provider interactions and the results provide valuable information for program improvement through the accreditation process.

The Maryland EXCELS Toolkit

The Maryland EXCELS Toolkit provides interactive information and resources in an online format to support goals of making quality improvements in child care and early education programs

Maryland Family Network and The Maryland Child Care Resource Network

The Maryland Child Care Resource Network (MCCRN), coordinated by Maryland Family Network (MFN), comprises twelve Child Care Resource Centers (CCRCs) covering all regions of the state. Each resource center offers training opportunities and technical assistance to child care providers throughout Maryland. The Maryland Child Care Training Calendar offers all child care providers in Maryland with a tool to search for and identify MSDE-approved trainings, trainers, and organizations to meet their professional development needs.

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