The Texas Rising Star (TRS) program's purpose is to improve the overall quality of child

care and early childhood education in the state of Texas, and it does so by defining high

standards for child care settings. A child care program that exceeds the state's expectations

for early childhood education and child care is eligible for TRS certification. Through TRS

certification, the state guarantees that the licensed center, be it a preschool, daycare, or

otherwise, has the capacity, resources, and funding from the state to provide excellent child care.

 

Why is the Texas Rising Star program important?

Countless research studies have shown that early childhood education is a key factor in academic success for all children. These programs provide children with age-appropriate, structured lessons geared toward a child's development and understanding in all fields: literacy, math, science, and language. Children who receive quality resources during their preschool years will be more ready to enter the k-12 school system when they ordinarily would have struggled to keep up with their peers. The TRS program is, therefore, one way to help provide a better foundation for at-risk children to succeed later in life.

Ensuring quality standards for education during early childhood is not the only way that the TRS program seeks to enhance childcare in Texas. The TRS program also aims to improve parent communication and involvement in a child's education from an early age, which is another important factor in the child's later educational and personal success. Furthermore, because this is a voluntary quality-based child care rating system, the TRS program fosters teacher empowerment, beginning with a caregiver's choice to meet the certification criteria. Teacher empowerment helps to encourage a culture of professionalism and lifelong learning in the field of child care. Finally, the requirement for a center to agree to work with the Texas Workforce Commissions subsidized child care program means that these resources are put exactly where they need to be.

​

What is the certification criteria for the TRS program?

TRS certification is based on these five categories: director and staff qualifications and training, caregiver-child interactions, curriculum, nutrition and indoor/outdoor activities, and parent involvement and education. Each of these categories has a specific purpose, which aims to improve child care and education in a measurable way. These categories offer the TRS a way to organize child care providers into three levels of certification (which are Two-Star, Three-Star, and Four-Star), corresponding to the provider's success in satisfying the requirements of each category. All licensed and registered child care providers must exceed expectations in these five categories to be considered.