News & Resources

The First Steps 4K Family Engagement Survey was administered online in the fall of 2021. The survey was sent to 2,706 parents/caregivers of 4K students of which 383 responded. We learned that 88% would highly recommend First Steps 4K to a friend or family member. We also learned that First Steps 4K teaches children and empowers parents to work. Check out the other benefits of First Steps 4K in this report.

The goal of First Steps’ Quality Enhancement programs is to improve the quality of child care to children (0-5 years) through one-on-one coaching and classroom support provided by Technical Assistance Providers. The Quality Enhancement Quality Counts (QE/QC) Teacher Engagement Survey was administered online from November 8th to December 1st, 2021 to teachers who participated in the QE/QC program from July 1st, 2019 to the present. There were 101 responses from teachers in 7 counties across the state. Check out what teachers thought about their experience with our QE/QC program.

The Quality Enhancement Quality Counts (QE/QC) Director Engagement Survey was administered online from November 8th to December 1st, 2021 to directors who participated in the QE/QC program from July 1st, 2019 to the present. There were 47 responses from directors in 7 counties across the state. 77% would highly recommend QE/QC programs to other child care providers in their county. Check out what else we learned about the QE/QC program experience from directors across the state.

The December 7 event brought together an especially wide-ranging panel of experts and leaders from across the country. The conversation focused on advances at the state level during 2021.

It’s only by helping all children to thrive — which starts with helping parents prepare their children to learn and then providing those children with more and better teachers who know the best ways to teach them and are teach them — that our state will become the place we want our children and grandchildren to call home.

State and local officials joined community leaders to open the Highland Early Learning Center on Tuesday. The new child care center, located in Spartanburg’s Highland community, will provide free, quality care and education to eligible children.

Register today for the 2021 SC Summit on Early Childhood. With “From the Start” as our theme, keynote speakers and breakout sessions will focus on the earliest years of childhood, from prenatal to age three. All events, including networking opportunities and an interactive expo hall, will be presented virtually December 2-3, 2021.

This is the year we are launching our inaugural fundraising event, Celebrate Community. Here's how you can get involved.

South Carolina has a head start on this work through First Steps to School Readiness, a combination state agency and nonprofit organization that focuses on parents as children’s first and most important teachers.