Va. cuts early childhood sites ‘needing support’ in half; instruction improvements ongoing

Virginia’s list of early childhood centers rated as “needing support” has been cut in half from 51 to 25 over back-to-back school years, with instruction identified as the most common aspect requiring improvement.

The state education department identified the data to determine how it can improve and support Virginia’s early childhood care centers and family day homes, as families continue to seek high-quality sites. Seven out of 10 Virginia children under the age of six have working parents, according to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).

The state uses the Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five system (VQB5), which is focused on improving children’s school readiness and expanding access for parents and support providers. The system is also a tool for gauging the effectiveness of Virginia’s early childhood education programs. 

Jenna Conway, chief of early learning and specialized populations at VDOE, said none of the sites identified as needing support in the 2023-2024 school year repeated the following year. However, the agency still plans to continue helping more sites meet or exceed expectations.

“We want every single actor in the system, every single person, to pay attention to what’s happening in each and every classroom,” Conway said. “That’s why we require observations in the fall and spring in every single classroom, and that’s why our data system captures data about every single classroom and then rolls that up to create the site results.”

Last Thursday at the state Board of Education work session, Conway shared some details from the agency’s second release of the VQB5 ratings of 3,923 sites and new honor rolls, which were presented by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and VDOE earlier this month.

Many sites branded as “needing support” also need improved instruction. Between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, the number of sites “needing support” decreased from 51 to 25. The 25 sites represent only 1% of the total number of sites, with 3,167 (96%) meeting expectations and 101 (3%) exceeding the state’s quality expectations.

Under this measurement, the state focuses on how educators interact with and support children’s learning across different age groups. Conway said this could range from language modeling for infants and toddlers to helping preschoolers ask questions and encouraging critical thinking.

The data is also raising awareness of the state’s VQB5 Quality Profiles portal, which helps families “search for and choose the public or private early childhood option that best meets their needs,” according to the agency. 

Conway said the portal has received 125,000 views as of Thursday afternoon, after collecting approximately 10,000 views in the first 24 hours.

The system was made possible by successful legislation first introduced and carried by Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax, and former Democratic Sen. Janet Howell in 2020, which was amended in 2022.

The system took another step forward after the General Assembly approved funding the Youngkin administration’s $1.2 billion Building Blocks for Virginia Families initiative, which invests in early childhood slots this biennium.

The state conducted 31,258 local and external site observations during the 2024-2025 school year, supporting over 11,300 classrooms, nearly doubling the previous year.

Agency data from the 2024-2025 school year also shows that 51% of Virginia’s kindergartners are “school ready,” while the remaining 49% began the same year needing to build skills in literacy, mathematics, self-regulation and/or social skills.

In the past two administrations, Virginia has seen substantial growth in publicly funded early childhood care and education programs. Notably, state funding has increased by $390 million since 2018.

Additionally, the number of children served with public funds has nearly doubled, rising from approximately 37,000 to nearly 70,000. The growth has primarily been driven by the Child Care Subsidy Program, which provides subsidies to eligible families, and funding to private, community-based preschools. The initiatives help support children at risk of entering school without the necessary skills.

President Grace Creasey, whom Youngkin appointed, said at Wednesday’s work session she was appreciative of the early learning team and its forward-looking approach to continuous improvement in early childhood education.

She suggested the state should continue investigating salary differences among early childhood providers, focusing on instructional leadership development, exploring ways to support early identification of special education needs, and improving communication between early childhood and K-12 systems.

“I know for your team, this is truly a moment of finality to some degree,” Creasey said. “I know we’re never finished doing this kind of work to make things better, to prepare kids better to get to our K-12 systems, and I just thank all of you for your commitment to moving this continually down the field to get to that goal post that you all set for yourselves and for the commonwealth.” 

Conway said she hopes the data will help address the challenges with teacher turnover, in the short and long term.

According to the data presented, 31% of childcare teachers left day care centers between fall 2024 and spring 2025, compared to 5% of teachers who left public schools.

Conway also hopes the data will encourage families to visit the portal and help them understand why child interactions, or exchanges between a child and a teacher or caregiver, matter for healthy development.

“We hope that not only can we help more parents understand what VQB5 is and why it’s so important, but also that it helps us understand — as parents and grandparents and guardians — how we can ultimately improve our own interactions and support all kids’ learning and development,” Conway said.

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