Q&A: Meet Quality Improvement Manager Patti Craig

It’s safe to say Patti Craig believes in the power of early childhood education (ECE). With almost 30 years of experience, she has worked as a preschool and kindergarten teacher, early childhood program director, and professional training leader in Ohio and throughout the country.

She has provided supervision and coaching to managers and directors of early childhood and school-age programs in community partnerships with local school districts and mental health collaboratives. Patti has also developed supervision plans for her own programs and has written and presented professional training for the early childhood community in Ohio and throughout the country.

Now, Patti works as Quality Improvement Manager for the Cincinnati Preschool Promise. Through this role, she works with preschool providers throughout the Cincinnati Public School district boundary to improve their star rating from Step Up to Quality (SUTQ).

To get to know Patti, we asked her some questions about her passion for ECE and her work with CPP.

Why did you decide to get involved in the early education space? 

I have always wanted to work with children. At first, I thought I would teach music or art, but when I completed a kindergarten practicum, I know that I was driven to work in early childhood. I also began to have an interest in school readiness and research as it related to quality programming and administration.

What do you like about working with our Quality Improvement providers? 

They all want what’s best for children, but many do not have the experiences or resources to provide the highest quality environments and programming. I love to watch the field of ECE transition, and staff be acknowledged for their action steps to achieve higher quality.

Why did you decide to join the Cincinnati Preschool Promise team? 

I am passionate about helping providers reach their fullest potential for children, families, communities, and themselves!

What advice would you give to a preschool provider who is thinking about joining this growing effort to expand quality preschool to Cincinnati’s kids? 

Embrace these new resources and help lead the way for community change! We can step up our quality together, one step at a time!

For more information about the Cincinnati Preschool Promise Quality Improvement work, visit www.cincy-promise.org/providers.

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