The Virginia Department of Education on Thursday released quality profiles for 3,293 early childhood care and education sites across the Commonwealth under the Virginia Quality Birth‑to‑Five (VQB5) system, Superintendent Gullickson and chief of early learning Jenna Conway told the Board of Education.

The rollout, which the department said produced 31,258 CLASS observations and roughly 2,200,000 minutes of classroom observation, puts an individualized three‑digit quality score for each site on the department’s family portal and identifies nearly 500 sites on honor rolls for excellence or improvement, department staff said.

Why it matters: VQB5 is the state’s measurement and improvement system for any program that receives public funds for birth‑to‑five services. Department leaders said the system is intended to give parents apples‑to‑apples information about classroom interactions and to drive targeted supports to low‑performing sites while elevating exemplars for the sector.

Department officials described the profile release as the second year of full implementation and said more private providers are participating than when the system began. “VQB5, at a very high level, is required by law,” Jenna Conway, chief of early learning and specialized populations, told the board. Conway described two primary measurement elements: intensive classroom observations using the nationally regarded CLASS tool and the voluntary use of approved curricula.

Superintendent Gullickson used the public portion of the meeting to underline funding stability. “There have been no disruptions or cuts to the reimbursements for the Virginia Department of Education,” she said, adding that federal funds from multiple agencies continue to flow to programs and reimbursements as expected.

What the results show: The department reported statewide improvement in average VQB5 scores and a small increase in the share of sites that meet or exceed expectations (99% by the department’s buckets), a decline in the number of sites in the “need support” category from 51 to 25, and growth in family day homes and public schools. The department said 101 sites earned “exceeds expectation” status — up from 79 the prior year — and that nearly 500 sites appeared on various honor rolls for excellence and improvement.

Areas flagged for follow‑up included instructional practice and curriculum use in some child‑care settings. Conway said curriculum adoption is rewarded with points (100 points) in the VQB5 scoring but that meaningful gains from curriculum typically take two to three years as programs embed materials and professional learning. Board member Doctor Northern noted a related workforce finding presented by the department: between fall and spring observations, about 31% of child‑care teachers changed, a turnover rate the department said was far higher than in public schools and relevant to how improvement supports should be designed.

Department strategy: Officials described a continuous improvement model that pairs local fall and spring CLASS observations with third‑party validation, coaching by quality consultants, and regional supports run by nine statutorily recognized “Ready Regions” managed by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. For sites identified in the “need support” category last year, the department said it required improvement planning and assigned coaches and that all 50 of the previously identified sites had moved out of that category after a year of targeted assistance.

Quotations from the meeting illustrate the department’s framing: Conway said the CLASS observation protocol is “an intensive observation across multiple domains and dimensions with lots of notes and a very precise score.” The superintendent and board members repeatedly emphasized communication to parents and the need to continue supporting providers across rural and urban communities.

What’s next: The department said it will continue 9 deep‑dive sessions with regional partners to unpack the data, expand family engagement materials on the portal, and refine guideline language for the 2025–26 cycle. Officials also announced the launch of VA Connects, which links early childhood classroom, assessment and longitudinal K‑12 data to enable long‑term analysis of classroom quality and student outcomes.

Ending: Board members asked for follow‑up briefings on compensation and regional pay disparities, the department’s approach to improving instructional support, and how VQB5‑linked data will inform identification of special education needs and transition into K‑12.