Early Childhood Standards of Quality for ... - State of Michigan

Partnership with families5. Program Standard: Family members and members selected fromthe community participate in the program’s advisory council; thecouncil has responsibility for recommending direction in the planning,development, implementation, and evaluation of the program.A Quality Program:1. Operates the advisory council with parent membership under theguidelines and requirements of the sponsoring agency or legislationand within the framework of policies and practices as established by thecouncil and the program’s governing body.2. Provides equal opportunity to all parents to serve on the advisory councilbased on the program’s policies. This may include orientation, trainingand support for their participation.3. Arranges for the advisory council to provide recommendations regardingall components of the program based upon the most recent data andresearch in early childhood education.4. Assures that, as much as possible, the advisory council reflects thecomposition and characteristics of the families enrolled in the programand the people who make up the broader community (e.g., a balanceof males and females, racial/ethnic groups, persons with disabilities,representatives from businesses and private and nonprofit agencies).5. Communicates the activities of the advisory council to all families andstaff and provides information about how to contact the council members.6. Program Standard: All families are provided with opportunities toassist in the evaluation of the program.A Quality Program:1. Provides each family with the opportunity to review and provide inputon program requirements, practices, policies, procedures, activities,communication and events in order to determine the program’sresponsiveness to families and their needs.2. Provides each family with the opportunity to offer perceptions about thevalue for their children of the child development program offered in theclassroom and of any special services.3. Invites each family to assess the continuum of family-involvementactivities (e.g., the nature, quality, and quantity of the various participationopportunities afforded to them; unmet needs or areas of interest; the extentto which participation opportunities were scheduled and offered in wayswhich were responsive to employment schedules and child care needs).30 Michigan Department of Education