LAKEPORT – The Lake County Child Care Planning Council, in partnership with First 5 Lake, is now accepting applications for the 2012-13 Steps to Quality Program for early childhood educators.

Steps to Quality offers generous stipends for completion of a year-long program designed to mentor early childhood educators, provide opportunities for professional growth and reward those who are continuing their education.

Thanks to a new funding opportunity through First 5 California, the 2012-13 program offers increased stipends, as well as additional resources.  

Local early childhood educators will receive intensive training on the CLASS assessment tool.  

CLASS is an evaluation tool that measures the quality of teacher/child interactions and the atmosphere of the classroom or program, based on decades of research that high quality teacher/child interactions and positive climate in the classroom both have a significant positive impact on student outcomes.

For more information on eligibility and requirements, and to access the application, visit www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com and see “monthly highlight,” or contact the Lake County Child Care Planning Council at 707-262-4162.