The Sacramento County Office of Education program Raising Quality Together (RQT) is Sacramento County's Quality Rating and Improvement System. The Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) is a voluntary program focused on creating a comprehensive system that establishes uniform standards of quality for early learning programs, and provides quality research-based support for licensed early care and education centers and family child care homes serving children birth through age five. Programs who chose to participate at the highest level, are rated from 1 (the lowest) to 5 (the highest) on the 7 elements of quality established by the California Department of Education and First 5 California.

​

A 5 Star Rated programs that participates in Raising Quality Together:

• Helps families identify high-quality early learning settings

• Attends professional learning 

• Allows assessments to be completed by outside observers on tools that measure program quality and teacher-child interactions

• Provides individualized instruction and support for optimal learning and development that is informed by child observation and assessment data

• Use the Ages and Stages Questionarie to ensure children receive support to develop healthy social and emotional concepts, skills and strategies

• Engages in high quality teacher-child interactions and developmentally appropriate learning experiences

• Offers small group sizes and low teacher-child ratios to ensure high quality interactions

• Participates in coaching sessions and observations 

• Creates goals for program improvement 

• Is validated on the 7 elements of quality annually