Kaplan is proud to extend its long-standing commitment to Maryland's early childhood teachers, caregivers, parents, and children through its support of the Maryland EXCELS Quality Rating and Improvement System. For over 50 years, Kaplan has worked in concert with the early childhood community to support the vision and creation of quality caring and learning environments for children and families. This website is designed to continue that tradition of support. At the click of a button, Maryland EXCELS providers can access the information and resources that they need to design and operate great programs for children and their families.
Maryland EXCELS is a great way to support children's future success. Working together, child care centers, school-age child care programs, family child care homes, public pre-Kindergartens, and parents, can ensure that children are on the pathway to excellence. Kaplan is committed to being part of the success story and has worked hard to develop and provide resources for school districts, private providers, parents, and children that will be the foundation of many prosperous programs.
Browse our Learning Center for a variety of articles, tips, resources, strategies, and more.
Whether a child hits others, uses inappropriate language, or throws a tantrum, all educators have to address challenging behaviors in the classroom. Social-emotional learning and self-regulation tools help teach children about resilience and how to appropriately manage their behavior and emotions, but those resources may not be enough to effectively address the challenging behavior. Read more.
Learning centers are an important component of preschool and kindergarten classrooms, but children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often struggle with the learning center environment. For example, a child with ADHD may have trouble focusing on the activity or staying in his or her assigned learning center space. Read more.
Block play has long been a favorite learning center in preschool classrooms and child care centers, but it can also be used in both preschool and elementary classrooms to promote STEM. A major benefit of using block play to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is the versatile learning opportunities block play presents. Read more.
Positive family-school partnerships are essential in helping children learn and grow, but figuring out how to connect with families to form and maintain these partnerships isn't always straightforward. This is especially true in early childhood environments because attending a child care or preschool program for the first time can cause a lot of stress for both the child and family. Read more.
Children are often drawn to sand and water tables due to the fun learning experiences that they support, which is why choosing the right sand and water table for your students is important. Having a sand and water table in your classroom can help children learn to work together, develop their fine motor skills, and increase their communication and problem-solving skills. Read more.
Julie came to Kaplan with a strong background in sales, certifications in the state of Maryland for early childhood and elementary education, and a Master's Degree in Teaching from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Julie currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where she enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies, and spending time outdoors. Julie spent more than 6 years teaching in both early childhood and elementary classrooms, so she has the knowledge and experience necessary to meet all of her customers' needs.
Julie serves customers across Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia for Kaplan. Julie also works closely with the Maryland Head Start Association, the Maryland Family Network, and is a Maryland EXCELS partner.
Whether you're looking for STEM products, curriculum and assessment resources, or even professional development trainings and courses, Julie will provide you with everything you need to meet Race to the Top and Judy Center guidelines, and attain IT and EXCELS enhancement grants. Julie encourages current and prospective customers to reach out to her at any time with questions or for more information about current discounts, sales, products, and services.
