Continuous improvement

Strengths and gaps identified by rule from the data, the plan against each gap, and what happened to last year's findings. The compliance risk is not having gaps. It is being unable to show that a gap was identified, acted on, and measured.

45 CFR 1302.102(c)

The requirement. A program must implement a system of ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement: use data to identify strengths and areas needing improvement, develop and implement a plan to correct them, and document progress. This is a cycle, not an annual event. A gap that does not close after a documented intervention needs a different intervention, not a repeated one, and a reviewer reads repetition as a finding in itself.

Step 1

Collect

continuous

Step 2

Aggregate

three times a year

Step 3

Analyze and identify

current stage

Step 4

Plan

6 plans active

Step 5

Act

6 owners assigned

Step 6

Re-measure

next checkpoint

Strengths identified from data

evidence for the self-assessment narrative

Gaps identified from data

5 of them high severity

4 of 7

Prior-year gaps closed

0 persisting

Aggregation cycles completed

fall, winter and spring, requirement met

Identified

Strengths

6 found by rule

Mathematics outcomes exceed the published comparison.
88% of children met or exceeded widely held expectations at the spring checkpoint, +6 pp above the published figure of 82% for ages 4 to 5.
Assessment system · spring checkpoint · n = 260 · rule: spring result at least 2 percentage points above the published comparison
Literacy growth is the strongest in the program.
+43 pp from the fall checkpoint to the spring checkpoint, moving from 45% to 89%.
Assessment system · all three checkpoints · rule: largest fall-to-spring gain, where the gain is at least 30 percentage points
Checkpoint completion is effectively universal.
436 of 438 eligible children have a finalized checkpoint at all three points, so the aggregation denominator is defensible.
Assessment system · finalization log · rule: at least 99% of eligible children finalized at all three checkpoints
Health insurance coverage closed a gap over the year.
94 children were uninsured at enrollment and 47 are uninsured now, a move from 80% to 90% covered.
Management information system · items C.1 and C.2 · rule: coverage at end of enrollment higher than at enrollment
Developmental screening is completed inside the 45-day window.
304 of 315 newly enrolled children were screened within 45 days of enrollment.
Management information system · items C.27 and C.28 · rule: at least 95% of new enrollees screened within 45 days
4 of 7 school readiness goals were met at the spring checkpoint.
Every one of the five central domains of the framework carries at least one measurable goal, and 4 reached target.
Assessment system · school readiness goals · rule: at least half of the stated goals met

Identified

Gaps

each requires a documented plan

Classroom Organization is below the quality threshold.
The program average is 5.47 against a threshold of 6.00. 27 of 32 classrooms average below the threshold. A score below threshold contributes to a competitive renewal determination.
Classroom observation records · fall and spring windows · rule: program average below the published threshold for the domain
Chronic absence affects 38% of cumulative enrollment.
178 of 471 children have missed 10% or more of the days they were enrolled. 164 of them are still enrolled, so the number is still movable this year.
Management information system · attendance · item A.22.a · rule: chronic absence above 20% of cumulative enrollment
The Language and Literacy goal was missed, measured through Language.
82% against a target of 85%, a shortfall of −3 pp.
Assessment system · spring checkpoint · rule: spring result more than 2 percentage points below the stated target
The Cognition goal was missed, measured through Cognitive.
81% against a target of 85%, a shortfall of −4 pp.
Assessment system · spring checkpoint · rule: spring result more than 2 percentage points below the stated target
25 children diagnosed as needing oral treatment did not receive it.
63 of 88 children with a diagnosed need were treated. The most common reason recorded is an appointment scheduled for a future date.
Management information system · health · item C.20.a.1 · rule: any child with a diagnosed oral treatment need left untreated
No school readiness goal maps to Scientific Reasoning.
The receiving districts assess this at kindergarten entry: asks questions about and describes observable properties of objects and living things. It is a subdomain of the framework with no corresponding measurable goal.
Framework crosswalk · district kindergarten entry criteria · rule: a district kindergarten expectation with no corresponding program goal
One receiving district has no transition agreement.
3 of 4 districts in the service area have a formal agreement to coordinate transition services in effect.
Program records · item D.7.b · rule: any district in the service area without a formal transition agreement
4 teachers below the degree requirement are not enrolled in a qualifying program.
13 of 32 teachers do not hold a baccalaureate or advanced degree, and 9 of those are enrolled in a qualifying degree program.
Management information system · staff · items B.4 and B.4.a · rule: any teacher below the requirement without a documented professional development plan
One center falls below 80% on family involvement in assessment conversations.
Sunrise Center 70%. The standard ties family engagement to school readiness progress through this item specifically, so it is a self-assessment finding rather than a data problem.
Management information system · family services · item C.44.j · rule: any center below 80% on the item tying engagement to school readiness
34 families have no partnership agreement on file.
344 of 441 families have a completed agreement and 63 are in progress. 14 families have had no recorded contact in 60 days.
Management information system · family services · rule: any family with no partnership agreement recorded
7 children referred for an evaluation did not receive one.
47 of 54 referrals resulted in an evaluation. The reason for each is a required narrative on the annual report.
Management information system · item C.22.b · rule: any referral for evaluation without a completed evaluation

Every gap above is produced by a rule against a threshold, so the list changes when the data changes rather than when someone remembers to update it. The rule that fired is printed with each finding.

Plans

Active improvement plans

2 past their target date

Gap	Action	Owner	Target	Progress	Status
Classroom Organization below the OHS threshold now 5.47 · threshold 6.00	Practice-based coaching cycle in the classrooms averaging below 5.5 on Classroom Organization, focused on the behavior management and productivity dimensions. Re-observe before the spring window closes.	Education Manager	Apr 30, 2026	coaching complete in the first cohort of flagged rooms, re-observation under way	In progress
Chronic absenteeism above one third of enrollment now 38% · 178 of 471 children	Two-tier attendance protocol: same-day contact after one absence, family advocate home visit after three consecutive. Weekly attendance report to center directors.	ERSEA Manager	Ongoing	Average daily attendance up from the fall	On track
Language goal missed now 82% · national 84%	Targeted small-group oral language instruction in the classrooms with the largest gap between Language and Literacy, with dialogic reading added to the daily schedule.	Education Manager	May 29, 2026	launched in every flagged classroom, not yet re-measured	In progress
Children with untreated oral health need now 25 · of 88 diagnosed as needing treatment	On-site dental day with the mobile dental partner; direct scheduling support for families where the barrier was a missed appointment.	Health Services Manager	Mar 13, 2026	about a third of the group resolved	Overdue
No school readiness goal for Scientific Reasoning now 1	Add a seventh goal for the Cognition domain, Scientific Reasoning, measured through the Science and Technology objectives, effective next program year.	Head Start Director	Jun 30, 2026	Drafted; Policy Council review pending	In progress
One receiving district without a transition agreement now 3 · of 4 districts in the service area	Execute a formal transition agreement with the fourth district covering kindergarten records transfer and joint transition activities.	Head Start Director	Feb 27, 2026	Initial meeting held	Overdue

The current value on each plan is computed from the same records the rest of the app reads, through the metric the plan names. A tracker whose figures are typed in drifts from the data within a month; this one cannot.

Prior year

Did last year's actions work?

documented progress on the previous findings

Gap identified last year	Then	Now	Result
Literacy below goal, ages 4-5	71%	89%	Closed
Mathematics below the national comparison, ages 4-5	79%	88%	Closed
Health insurance at end of enrollment	89%	90%	Improving
Developmental screening within 45 days	91%	97%	Closed
Checkpoint finalization rate	84%	100%	Closed
CLASS Classroom Organization	5.38	5.47	Improving
Chronic absenteeism rate	39%	38%	Improving

Every prior-year gap has closed or is improving.

Re-measurement

Did the intervention move the number?

metrics with an active plan, across the three checkpoints

Average daily attendanceLanguage, share meeting expectations

Attendance and the language goal both responded inside the program year. Classroom Organization did not, which is why it is escalated rather than repeated. Re-measuring at the next checkpoint rather than at the end of the year is what makes the cycle a cycle.

Findings are derived from 436 children with a finalized checkpoint at all three points, 471 children served in total, and the full staff and family records. Each rule states its own threshold, and a finding disappears when the underlying number crosses back.