Today's Child is proud to announce that its facility in Media has attained a PA Keystone STARS Level 3 certification. Level 3 is the second highest level a childcare center can reach. 

Media Campus Center Director Cristina Kime said of the news, "I am very happy that all of the staff's hard work showed and that its being recognized by the early childhood community." 

Level 3 certification carries with it heavy requirements, including more professional development hours than any other level except STAR 4; a large portion of staff having completed or are enrolled in a degree or certification program; activities occurring naturally throughout the day are designed to encourage communication, both written and verbal. Parental and community resources should be used effectively in the delivery of childcare. Business, organizational and staff compensation practices are maximized and the facility is reviewed by a nationally recognized environmental rating scale that indicates a high-quality score. 

Kime continued, "Our parent committee has been so great. They've been quite helpful, encouraging the staff and doing whatever they could to help us move up." 

High-quality Pre-K education and programs like Keystone STARS are of high importance to Delaware County where, in some areas, more than 40% of the population live below the poverty line. High-quality Pre-K programs have also been shown to increase graduation rates, raise GPAs, and lower the rate of grade retention. For every dollar spent on Pre-K education, the Commonwealth can expect to see a projected return of up to sixteen dollars.

Education Administrator Christine Ambrose said, "We are thrilled that all of our teachers scored as high as they did. Our teachers perform phenomenally on a daily basis and it showed." 

National research demonstrates that children with high-quality pre-K experiences enter kindergarten with better reading, language, math, cognitive, and social skills than those without pre-K. This is especially important in the areas where TCLC operates, serving some of the most high-risk students in Delaware County. 

The designation process is a long one, with multiple inspections and designation visits from STARS officials. This group's journey to STAR 3 took approximately 10 months. Over that period, the Commonwealth was constantly checking in on what the centers were doing in all aspects of their operation. 

Ambrose said, "We knew our staff are all of high quality, now STARS recognizes it too." 

This continues a tradition of quality childcare for the company, now in its 20^th year. Today's Child also has STAR 4 facilities at Sharon Hill School, Colwyn, Primos, Sharon Hill Regional Head Start, Delcroft School and Draby Township School. Today's Child has been a participant in the Keystone STARS program since the program began. 

"We're happy we made STAR 3, but we're not content, we want to push for STAR 4," Kime stated.

Today's Child will continue to improve and grow as we work towards STAR 4 at all of our centers.