Parents

The Pinellas 5-Star QIS was established to:

• Improve the quality of Pinellas' early childhood education programs

• To provide parents with an easy-to-use tool to identify and select quality child care programs

• To provide financial incentives and assistance to programs to maintain and/or improve the quality of the services they deliver.

Participation in Pinellas 5-Star is voluntary and open to all school readiness providers.

For a list of the current 5-Star preschool centers and/or or school-age program providers and their latest star-rating, click on this star for a List of 5-Star Preschool Centers or this star List of 5-Star School-age Programs

Please note that these lists change within a day of the providers’ latest annual assessment.

Also remember that the 5-Star Quality Improvement System is a long-term initiative for continuously improving the quality of child care services. 

The quality improvement process may take a few years to achieve a star-rating process, as the quality standards have been raised significantly.

Providers on the list with a “P” in the rating column are those providers that are committed to continuously improving their services and achieving a star-rating.

Participating family child care homes are receiving their introductory quality assessment during 2007-2008 and will begin to receive their official quality assessment starting October 2008.

The quality rating list for family child care homes will be added to the website, as the quality assessments are completed during 2008-2009.

Participating providers receive a certificate that displays their star-rating. Those providers that have not yet achieved a star-rating receive a participant certificate.

Remember, the QIS contains very high quality standards and it may take a few years to attain a star-rating. 

The certificates are posted conspicuously at the provider sites for parents to easily recognize. To view the sample certificates, click on:

• Sample 5-Star Achiever Certificate

• Sample 5-Star Participant Certificate

For more information on understanding the Pinellas 5-Star Program and its ratings, parents may download a Parent Guide