CEED to host CLASS® conference for Minnesota-based coaches

CEED held Minnesota’s first CLASS® Conference in 2010. It was timed just as the state’s quality rating and improvement system, Parent Aware, was nearing the end of its pilot phase. In the years that followed, Parent Aware rolled out statewide, with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) as a key tool for assessing and improving classroom quality. The CLASS is embedded in many states’ quality improvement systems as well as in Head Start nationally.

Certified observers visit classrooms and score them on the high-quality interactions that they see between children and teachers. Educators receive scores in categories called domains and dimensions. Trained CLASS coaches then use those scores as data to help early childhood professionals set goals and develop in their practice. CLASS data provides a neutral, standardized language that helps educators pinpoint specific practices that have an impact on children’s learning. For example, an educator with a low score in the Quality of Feedback dimension might work with their coach to increase their curiosity about how children come up with their answers—digging deeper into how children know what they know instead of just seeking correct answers. Or for a teacher with a low score in Educator Sensitivity dimension, a coach might help them look for opportunities to watch how children are experiencing the day in their classroom. The coach might then help the educator make adjustments to make sure each child is noticed and supported.