Great Start to Quality

Relative Caregivers - You are now required to take the Great Start to Quality Orientation to continue receiving payment from the State of Michigan to care for children. YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND THIS TRAINING - SPACES ARE LIMITED!

Go to Great Start to Quality's Educator page and click on "Professional Development" to find a training date and location. Or, call our office at 616.447.5678

The Great Start Collaborative of Kent County is a group of local professionals and parents who are working with First Steps and others in the community to help ensure all children have a GREAT START in life.

Our local Collaborative is part of a network of 55 Great Start Collaboratives working in every county in Michigan. The Great Start system is funded by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, a public corporation formed in 2005.

There is a Great Start parent Coalition affiliated with every Great Start Collaborative, providing parents with an opportunity to inform, shape, and support the early childhood work in their community.  Learn more about the Great Start Parent Coalition in Kent County.

For more information about the Great Start Collaborative please contact the director at 616.632.1019

Looking for a way to pay for it all? Apply for a T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship!

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MICHIGAN links education, compensation and commitment to improving the quality of early education.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MICHIGAN is a statewide scholarship program designed to help child care center teaching staff, preschool teachers, family child care providers, group home owners, center directors, and administrators meet their professional development goals, while continuing their current employment in regulated early childhood and school age care settings.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MICHIGAN addresses two major challenges in the early education and care field – low wages and high turnover. The scholarship helps increase compensation and the retention of skilled teachers. 
The education level of child care providers is one of the most critical indicators of the quality of a child’s experiences in child care.

Currently, there are five scholarship models to support 
credit-based education:

• Building Foundations
• CDA Assessment
• Part-time Associate's Degree
• Associate's Degree (or CDA Training)
• Bachelor's Degree.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MICHIGAN, the scholarship recipient, and the sponsoring program work in partnership.

Play, Learn, Explore Early Childhood Resource Fair

Play, Learn, Explore Early Childhood Resource Fair is Saturday, June 6, 2020, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm!  Come and enjoy a day of family fun AND check out dozens of childcare providers, preschool programs and community resource agencies all in one place!

At this one-of-its-kind event parents can:

• Meet face-to-face with childcare providers and preschools
• Discover the benefits community resource & service agencies have to offer
• Get free vision & hearing screenings 

We'll even have registration on-site for FREE 4-year-old preschool. Plus, get ideas from Great Start to Quality to help you with these early years. 

Conveniently located right on the bus line at Kent Career Tech Center 1655 East Beltline NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525 (Next to the Knapp Corner Meijer).

Sponsors for Play, Learn, Explore Early Childhood Fair:

For information on Sponsorship and Participant Registration please contact us at 616-447-5678.