The Child & Family Network Centers Earns High Marks in New Star Rating System

October 5, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Anna Berke, The Child & Family Network Centers

Phone: (703) 836-0214
Email: aberke@cfnc-online.org

Alexandria, VA -- The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC) is among the first child care centers and
preschool programs in the Commonwealth to receive a star rating as part of the Virginia Star Quality
Initiative, a quality rating and improvement system for early learning programs. By participating in the
initiative, early learning programs are awarded one of five star levels of increasing quality. CFNC received
three four-star ratings and two three-star ratings for the five Alexandria sites that participated in 2010. This
rating system will give families an easy-to-use tool when researching options for their children’s earliest
learning experiences.

The Virginia Star Quality Initiative is entirely voluntary. If a child care center participates and earns a two-star
rating, for example, this distinction signals a commitment to continuing quality improvement and
distinguishes the program for going beyond expectations and standards required of them. If a program earns
additional stars, the number of stars reflects their additional achievements in their commitment to quality.

“We commend the preschool classrooms and child care centers that are pioneering this valuable tool.
Parents will benefit from enhanced consumer information; communities will benefit from greater availability
of high quality care; and early childhood programs will benefit from the support provided to reach quality
achievements. But the children participating in these programs are the real winners, since day by day, high
quality environments and experiences equip them with the skills and abilities they need to be successful in
school and life,” said Scott Hippert, president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. The VECF awards
the star designations to participating programs.

“CFNC was excited to participate and we are thrilled by our star-rating,” said Sharon Shackelford, Director of
Education at CFNC. “Our rating is further evidence of the high quality of our preschool and we are proud that
for more than 26 years we have been able to offer our program at no cost to families in need.”

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About the Virginia Star Quality Initiative: Established in 2007, the Virginia Star Quality Initiative has five Star
levels that incorporate and build upon current regulations for early care and education programs. The
Virginia Star Quality Initiative awards from one to five stars to early learning programs based on achievement
in each of the four standard areas. The four standard areas in the Virginia Star Quality Initiative— 1)
education, qualifications and training of the teaching staff; 2) interactions among teachers and students; 3)
group size and child-to-teacher ratio; and 4) learning environment and instructional practices—have
indicators that must be achieved for each star level. Programs are assessed by a thorough documentation
review and by on-site observations by trained and reliable Star Quality Raters. At this time, over 100

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programs in 13 communities across Virginia have been awarded a star rating. For more information and a
list of rated early learning programs, go to www.smartbeginnings.org/QRIS.

About The Child & Family Network Centers: Founded in 1984, the mission of CFNC is to provide caring, high-
quality, free education and related services to at-risk children and their families in their own neighborhoods
in order to prepare them for success in school and life. To that end, Early Education, Health Services, and
Social Services that include English, Family and Financial Literacy programs are provided on-site in
neighborhoods of Northern Virginia with high concentrations of limited English proficient families (LEP) living
in poverty. For more information, go to www.cfnc-online.org.