When choosing child care and early education programs, cost and convenience are important considerations for you, the parent. However, the ultimate value a program can offer you and your child is the quality of the care and education it provides.
High-quality programs engage not only with the children but with families, who are their child’s first teachers. They use community resources to enrich the experiences and learning opportunities for children. Staff members in high-quality programs have the education and experience to understand child development and offer learning activities that are appropriate for the age and developmental stage of each child.
Maryland EXCELS helps families find high-quality child care and early learning programs that welcome children of all abilities and backgrounds and support the development of each and every child. By helping programs improve the quality of their practices and services to meet national standards, Maryland EXCELS ensures that families across Maryland have access to care and education that will help them thrive in school and life.
Participating programs include licensed child care centers, family child care homes, school-age before and after care programs, Early Head Start and Head Start, faith-based schools and nurseries, and Public Pre-K. All programs are evaluated for health and safety, staff qualifications, developmentally-appropriate practice, program improvement, and business practices. Maryland EXCELS awards Quality Ratings 1 through 5 with details available in our Find a Program directory so that families can make an informed choice about quality.
Learn more about Maryland EXCELS here.