Transform your early childhood program into a Center of Excellence and give children the skills they need to thrive in school and life.
Contact Collab to Become a Center of Excellence
The Center of Excellence program by Collaborative for Children Houston helps child care providers deliver high-quality early education that prepares children for Kindergarten and beyond. Unlike drop-in daycare, our certified early childhood education (ECE) model focuses on long-term development, combining research-backed curriculum, business support, and family engagement.
– Boost school readiness with STEM and STEAM-aligned curriculum
– Improve child outcomes through data-driven instruction
– Strengthen business operations and staff retention
– Gain access to certified ECE training and coaching
– Build trust with families through quality assurance and safety protocols
Our Centers of Excellence go beyond basic care. We integrate a strategic approach to STEM and STEAM learning, social-emotional development, and communication skills to help children become creative thinkers and problem solvers. Through real-time data tracking, we monitor child progress and adjust strategies to meet individual needs.
All Centers of Excellence follow strict safety guidelines and are supported by certified early childhood specialists. Our team ensures compliance with state and national standards, providing families with peace of mind and providers with a competitive edge.
We Monitor, Measure, and Constantly Improve
Our continuous improvement process includes:
– Regular site visits and focused coaching
– Individual child outcome assessments
– Business sustainability planning
– Family engagement strategies
We Support Projects That Make a Difference
– Launch STEM-based learning activities for preschoolers
– Host parent workshops on early childhood development
– Train teachers in certified ECE practices
– Improve enrollment and retention through sustained business coaching
– Parents: Learn how to support your child’s learning at home
– Educators: Access professional development and curriculum tools
– Child Care Owners: Build a sustainable, high-quality center
– Donors & Funders: Invest in a proven model with measurable impact
Q: What is a Center of Excellence?
A: Center of Excellence is a certified child care center that meets high standards in early education, safety, and business operations.
Q: How is this different from a traditional daycare facility?
A: Unlike drop-in daycare, Centers of Excellence focus on long-term child development, school readiness, and family engagement.
Q: Who can apply to become a Center of Excellence?
A: Licensed child care providers in the Greater Houston area who want to improve quality and outcomes.
Q: What type of support will I receive?
A: You’ll receive coaching, curriculum resources, business consulting, and access to a network of early education subject matter experts.
Research indicates that children who enter kindergarten behind their peers academically are more likely to stay behind – or fall even further behind. But in Texas, the Pre-K programs are missing the mark in terms of quality standards and school readiness, and that is unacceptable. Collaborative for Children believes that children are the building blocks of the future and educators are the bedrock, and they deserve the support and resources critical to an exceptional early learning experience. We are addressing school readiness for Houston’s most vulnerable children through our Center of Excellence program.
Collaborative for Children has an established history as a leader in early childhood education and preparing kids for the 21st century through programs focused on positive child outcomes. Our focus is, and always has been, to give every child the opportunity for a bright future, while also ensuring that Houston has a sustainable workforce ready for the workforce of tomorrow. This hinges on an innovative and solid learning foundation. That is why we created our Center of Excellence program.
The Center of Excellence model supports childcare providers by helping them nurture the skills in young children through age 5 that are essential to seize the opportunities of the future. Our early childhood specialists equip child care programs and parents with the knowledge, skills, tools, and strategies necessary to continuously improve business operations, program quality, and the assessment and monitoring of child outcomes. By bringing strong business practices together with early childhood education professionals and engaged families, we can ensure that all kids are school ready.
Through our data-driven approach, tracking individual child outcomes provides real-time information that supports positive results. Using this collected knowledge, we can quickly and effectively expand or improve our services; share best practices; enhance our decision-making, and give kids the chance to pursue a future that gives them every opportunity to do something extraordinary.
To see if you should take advantage of the Center of Excellence program, answer these three basic questions:
If you answered No to any of them, let’s build a partnership that will enable your center to achieve our Center of Excellence seal of approval.
Are you Ready to transform your child care center?
Contact Collaborative for Children to learn how to become a Center of Excellence
A team of business specialists will support child care center directors and owners by developing viable business practices geared toward producing sustainable centers (maintaining enrollment, child attendance, and teacher retention).
A group of highly engaged mentors will guide early childhood education professionals in the use of our evidence-based student interaction, teaching, and methodology to ensure that 70 percent of children demonstrate growth toward school readiness.
With the child in mind, our 21st century curriculum, I Wonder! has been designed to help children develop skills to successfully manage the rapid changes in information technology that are reshaping our world. Centers of Excellence implement an early learning framework grounded in comprehensive research-based curriculum including, Neuhaus, Prelude Music, and Conscious Discipline to make sure kids are ready for school from the moment they first walk into a classroom.
We use a dual-generation approach designed to strengthen parent-child relationships and empower families and caregivers to increase school readiness for kids. Our family support specialists work to ensure that 90 percent of families and caregivers apply newly acquired skills obtained through Learning Parties, Parent Teacher Conferences, and consultations. By helping them sustain their learning capacity in the home, parents and caregivers can play a vital role in preparing kids for the future.
Email business-training@collabforchildren.org, call 713-600-1212
OR APPLY TODAY by filling out the fillable form online.
APPLY TODAY
Location: Identified as one of the 22 Priority Super Neighborhoods
Child Care Desert: Low-income/underserved communities
Enrollment: Serve children birth – 5 years and serve families receiving child care financial assistance
Licensing/Regulatory Agency: 10 or less deficiencies in the last 12 months
