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Environment Rating Scales
(ERS)
The Environment Rating Scales
(ERS) are tools that are used to measure quality in
child care programs. There are four separate tools,
each to be used with a different age or setting:
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ITERS-R - for birth to 30
months
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ECERS-R - for 30 months to 5
years
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SACERS - for school-age
programs
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FCCERS - for family child
care homes
As of July 1, 2009, the Early
Learning Coalition of Manatee County’s Provider
Agreement for School Readiness Services for the
fiscal year 2009‐2010 is in effect. According to
the agreement (Page 11, Item P, Number 2),
ELC‐Manatee will be implementing the Environment
Rating Scales to ensure School Readiness programs
are providing quality care to the children they
serve. As the agreement states, ELC‐Manatee is
requiring providers “to work toward achieving and
maintaining a score of 3.0 or higher.”
Please be advised that each provider will receive a
notice, via email or regular mail, with a two‐week
timeframe of when an ELC Early Learning
Specialist will be coming to your site to perform an
assessment. The Early Learning Coalition will perform at least one
assessment on 1/3 of the classrooms in each age
range at the selected child care program.
On the day of the assessment, ELC‐Manatee staff will
arrive at your center/FCCH between 8:15 and 8:30
a.m. to record information necessary to complete the
assessment (before and after‐school programs may be
different). The assessors and the director will
select which classrooms will be assessed based on
the Classroom Selection Process. Each classroom
assessment takes a minimum of three hours, not
including questions for the lead teacher and the
director. A time will need to be scheduled on the
day of the assessment for the ELC‐Manatee staff to
ask teacher questions. An interview with the
director to address the Parents and Staff portion of
the assessment may be scheduled for a different
day.
At the time your scores are emailed to you, you will
have two separate scores. The first score, or your
baseline score, will be the score that the
ELC‐Manatee reviews for quality assurance. The
second score will reflect your baseline score added
with the Parents and Staff portion of the
assessment. If your baseline score is below a 3.0
overall, a second full assessment may be performed
at your site.
Technical assistance is available upon request to
any provider after receiving your baseline score.
ELC-Manatee staff will work with teachers and
directors to development a program improvement plan
to increase quality based on the results of the
classroom’s ERS assessment. If your program
has been assessed and you would like to receive
technical assistance, please contact the Early
Learning Coalition of Manatee County's Quality
Department at (941) 757-2900 extension 260.
Links to more
information:
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