Quality Through Collaboration: Oklahoma’s Quality Initiatives

Oklahoma is considered to be the first state to create a comprehensive statewide quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for early care and education with the creation of its Reaching for the Stars initiative in 1998. This entry discusses initiatives that began in the early 1970s and led to the state’s QRIS. These initiatives have provided, and continue to provide, smooth pathways for individuals to grow as professionals in the field of early care and education.

Betty Stratton, a child development specialist at Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service, began work in the early 1970s on a professional development plan for child care staff in Oklahoma. At this time, child care was becoming an important aspect of the U.S. economy as an essential service for families. ...