General
If your program is accredited by one of the accrediting bodies recognized in ExceleRate Illinois, you can use your accreditation status to show evidence for many of the ExceleRate Illinois Standards. Please review the crosswalk summary for details and the additional requirements for alignment with ExceleRate Illinois.
If your program is accredited by one of the accrediting bodies recognized in ExceleRate Illinois, you can use your accreditation status to show evidence for many of the ExceleRate Illinois Standards. Please review the crosswalk summary for details and the additional requirements for alignment with ExceleRate Illinois.
To apply via the Head Start path:
- All classrooms must be Head Start-funded and operated in accordance with E/HS Performance Standards for the full program day.
- Grantee must be in good standing, as evidenced by its current federal monitoring results, and not subject to DRS.
- Available for both community-based and school-based sites. Licensed sites must be in compliance with ExceleRate IDCFS Licensing Requirements.
*This initiative is not available for delegate agency or partner sites of Head Start grantees.
Head Start/Early Head Start Programs
This orientation provides an interactive overview of the goals, quality indicators, benefits of participation, application process and the system supports available for success in reaching each Circle of Quality. This Gateways to Opportunity Registry-Approved training provides two (2) content hours of professional development that will appear on your Professional Development Record.
There are two ExceleRate Orientations available.
- ExceleRate™ Illinois Orientation for Child Care Centers
- ExceleRate™ Illinois Orientation for Family Child Care Providers
ExceleRate Illinois Orientation sessions are offered through local CCR&Rs, as well as online
- Local Training is offered through your local Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R). Visit the Gateways Statewide Online Training Calendar to search for available orientations. Search for keyword orientation and make sure to provide a date range.
- Online Training is accessed through the Gateways i-learning System – you will want to use either of the following browsers: Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. At this time the Internet Explorer browser is not compatible. You will need to sign in or create an account – your Gateways Registry Membership identification number is required to create an account. The ExceleRate™ Illinois Orientation can be found in the ExceleRate™ Illinois category of trainings.