Join our Network!

FIRST 5 Santa Clara County in partnership with the Santa Clara County Office of Education supports QUALITY MATTERS, a network of early educators who are committed to continuous quality improvement across all environments that serve young children, 0-5, and their parents and caregivers.

A STRONG START for kids

Every child in Santa Clara County deserves to start school ready to thrive—academically, emotionally, physically, and socially. That’s why FIRST 5 and the Santa Clara County Office of Education created QUALITY MATTERS, an early Learning initiative to make high-quality early learning accessible for every young child.

Through QUALITY MATTERS, we support families, educators, and community partners with a coordinated system that helps early learning programs reach and sustain the highest quality. We offer career development, community building, and leadership opportunities to advance the field of early learning and care.

Who does QUALITY MATTERS serve?

142 Center-Based Programs (Head Start, Preschools, State Subsidized Programs)
564 Family Child Care Homes
80 Non-traditional (license-exempt) sites: Family Resource Centers, Home Visitors, Family, Friend, and Neighbor, other Early Childhood Education programs
2,014 Early Educators
712 Infants, 1,606 Toddlers, 5,328 Preschoolers

Programs

Join us!

We invite Family Child Care Home small business owners and assistants, as well as family, friend, and neighbor childcare providers, to join our effort to create high-quality care settings in which young children can thrive.

Benefits of becoming a QUALITY MATTERS provider include:

Participation in the QUALITY MATTERS Stipend Program, which honors early educators’ professional learning journeys with an annual stipend for college coursework and professional training.
Registration to our annual Family Child Care Home Provider Leadership Conference, a popular event with engaging workshops, inspirational speakers, and the opportunity to connect with other providers across the county.
Access to additional opportunities that strengthen and support our early educator community, such as inclusion supports for children with disabilities, workshops and trainings, and advocacy opportunities that elevate the challenges facing childcare providers and offer policy solutions that strengthen this critical workforce.

Are you a Santa Clara County Family Child Care Home Provider interested in joining FIRST 5's QUALITY MATTERS network?

Through my involvement in QUALITY MATTERS, I have been fortunate enough to participate in SEEDS, RAR, My Teachstone, and the MA cohort. I have changed and improved my teaching practices because of what I learned in SEEDS, RAR, and My Teachstone. Now in the MA cohort, I am learning about my role as an advocate for equity and justice for the children and families in my community. QUALITY MATTERS has profoundly impacted me as a teacher and I in turn am using what I learned to impact my community positively.

QUALITY MATTERS…a STRONG START for kids in Santa Clara County has brought a well-defined framework to our early learning work. The common vision to serve families and young children with a wide range of services is credited to QUALITY MATTERS. In a driven collaborative manner, the well-designed pathway of QUALITY MATTERS, has provided a space for like-minded organizations to scaffold our work in concerted efforts with the sole mission of service, by using a meaningful holistic approach, which maximizes our early learning efforts in Santa Clara County. Each time I leave the QUALITY MATTERS meetings, I feel satisfied and fulfilled that I have the privilege to be part of a high quality matters movement that is transforming, enhancing, and creating health and educational changes for our communities of families, children, and those of us who choose to serve.

As a QRIS provider, FIRST 5 of Santa Clara County has provided me with professional development such as formal education, ongoing trainings; program assessments (ECCRS, FCCERS); program feedback; and developmental screening tools (ASQ, DRDP) necessary to vastly improve the quality of care for the children enrolled in my FCC program. One program to help improve my teaching practices related to CLASS is through convenient Teachstone online videos. Lastly, the families and children enjoy Raising a Reader book bags so now the children prefer books as their first free choice activity in the mornings. Prior to becoming a QRIS provider I did not have access to any of above supports. Thank you FIRST 5!