% Quality (BOQ) measures in place across pyramid model sites
Current Value
76%
Definition
Story Behind the Curve
The percent of overall Benchmark of Quality (BoQ) measures "in place" throughout the partner pyramid model sites steadily increased between 2018-2019 and 2022-2023, but declined slightly decline in 2023-2024. The recent slight decline is mainly due to site reporting consistency and staff turnover.
Contributing factors:
- Continued efforts in training and maintaining appropriate staff.
Limiting factors:
- Staff turnover.
- Duration in the program.
Why Is This Important?
Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ) is designed to help agencies/programs evaluate their progress toward implementing the Pyramid Model program-wide.
The most critical time to nurture a healthy, productive, successful future are the years between birth and age five. Nearly 90% of brain growth takes place during the first five years of life, with more than 1 million new neural connections formed every second. These are the connections that build brain architecture – the foundation upon which all later learning, behavior and health depend.
Science shows that starting early can have major short- and long-term effects on cognitive and social-emotional development. Early learning has been linked to progress in school, increased earnings, and reductions in antisocial behavior, welfare participation, and trouble with the law.
Partners
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Birth to Three
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Early Care & Education (AKA Childcare)
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Head Start
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Libraries
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Nonprofits
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Parents, Caregivers, Families
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Pre-K/Elementary Education
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Shine Early Learning (Youngstar)
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University of Wisconsin Extension- Dodge County
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Watertown Family Connections
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Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health (WI AIMH)
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Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA)
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Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce- FUTURO Program
What Works
Our community recognizes the need for collaboration and connecting support to all those who are working with and caring for infants, toddlers, and young children in Dodge and Jefferson counties. The Pyramid Model provides a framework for intentional implementation of practices that support social and emotional learning and address the distress that infants, toddlers and young children- and the adults who care about and for them-experience when there is challenging behavior. The primary reason young children are suspended and expelled from early care and education is the presence of challenging behavior. Limiting suspension and expulsion relies on increasing the capacity of adults, at the program and community level, to work to understand the meaning of a child’s behavior, to reframe their thinking, and respond in ways that guide and support social and emotional learning.
Program–wide implementation of the Pyramid Model Framework consists of
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Systemwide commitment to training and coaching and implementation of programmatic and classroom practices
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Practices and goals are guided by a leadership team- (state, community, and program) and driven by data
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Early care professionals are supported by internal and external coaches that work with the adults to apply skills and strategies that ensure equitable outcomes for infants, young children and their families
Action Plan
*Goal: Increase Quality Measures (BOQ's) in place across active Pyramid Model sites
*Objective: Data-Driven Decision Making Goals are created and monitored to ensure progress is being made towards critical elements being in place program-wide
Action steps:
- Consistent leadership collaboration between EC Coach and Internal PM Coaches
- Leadership team meetings are held monthly-quarterly (dependent on progress of fidelity)
- participating program-wide implementing sites complete the Benchmarks of Quality 2.0 two times per calendar year (fall and spring)
- Use data to inform practices, guide improvements, and demonstrate the impact on children's social-emotional development and behavior.
Data Methodology
*Data represents benchmark of quality (BoQ) measures submitted for each school year, submitted in the fall and spring semesters. Percentage represents the number of specific benchmarks in each of the critical element quality measurement categories that are "in place".
There are a total of 41 specific benchmarks across the seven critical element BoQ sections:
ELT = Establish Leadership Team, SBI = Staff Buy-in, FE = Family Engagement PWE = Program-Wide Expectations, PDSSP = Professional Development and Staff Support Plan, PRCB = Procedures for Responding to Challenging Behavior, MIO = Monitoring Implementation and Outcomes.