ECRC Leads Abacus Child Care Center to Five-Star Rating

Abacus Child Care Center in Akron has faced many challenges over its two decades in operation. Since Abacus began working with the Early Childhood Resource Center, it has earned a five-star Step Up To Quality rating, the highest possible in the state.

Abacus has faced staff and administration changes, building issues, vandalism, and fluctuating enrollment. Despite these challenges, the Early Childhood Resource Center has helped Abacus to stabilize and excel.

Abacus, which has an infant building and a preschool building, began participating in the Early Childhood Resource Center’s STARS (Supporting Teachers and Ready Students) program in 2019. At the time, the child care center was not Step Up to Quality star rated at all. Now, both the infant and preschool buildings are five-star rated.

“Early Childhood Resource Center has provided continuous support to us,” said TiAsia Riley, the administrator for the Abacus preschool building. “They helped us transition from a one-star to a three-star to a five-star rating. And they helped 100 percent of Abacus teachers achieve CDA compliance.”

CDA stands for Child Development Associate, and it’s one of the most sought-after staff certifications in child care. The CDA certification means a caregiver has been trained to understand child development and early childhood best practices, and has experience in the field.  

Riley said Early Childhood Resource Center staff members, including Regional Coordinator Elizabeth Schilling, have helped Abacus greatly: they’ve conducted assessments, made recommendations, and trained Abacus staff. Their ongoing guidance and support has made a huge difference. 

“Early Childhood Resource Center has provided our team with enough training that we now know what to look out for and what to expect during audits to maintain our five-star rating,” said Riley. “If we need something or have a question, we can always reach out to them.”

That five-star rating ensures a better start for young children. It also means Abacus has become more financially sustainable.  

“As a five-star-rated child care center, we get more reimbursement from the state of Ohio for the work we do,” said Riley. “And we’re able to provide better care and learning experiences for the children.”

Riley added that high-quality care gives children a much better start in life.

“One hundred percent of childhood experiences impact adulthood,” said Riley. “We do everything possible to ensure we positively impact the children. The Early Childhood Resource Center helps us do just that.”

Thanks to Abacus and the Early Childhood Resource Center, 60 children in Akron are getting five-star care. And that adds up to a better start for every one.