The first on-site mentoring program of the Mississippi State University (MSU) Early Childhood Institute, Partners for Quality Child Care began in 2000 and became the model for the institute’s other on-site mentoring programs. The institute assigns well-trained technical assistants to work with center directors and teachers approximately four times a year to improve the learning environment of the programs.

Partners for Quality Child Care focuses on examining the learning environments at participating child care centers and uses standardized, nationally normed environmental rating scales to pinpoint areas that need improvement. Graduated minimum scores on the environmental rating scales are key criteria in the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System.

JoAnn Thomas, M.S., directs this ongoing project.