Council Unveils Historic Partnersihp with leading ECE Organization in the Middle East 

January, 2013 - The Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C. is proud to announce its historic first international partnership.  By partnering with Arabian Child, the premiere early childhood education training organization of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), early educators throughout the Middle East will now have the opportunity to earn the coveted Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential™.

The first CDA candidates in the UAE will be assessed in 2013. Council CEO Valora Washington says the partnership is the culmination of more than a year of collaboration and creative and strategic thinking between both organizations.

“We are excited about expanding the reach of the CDA credential across the globe,” said Dr. Valora Washington, Council Chief Executive Officer, “and are so pleased to be taking that first step with the Arabian Child organization.”

Through the partnership, Arabian Child aims to further promote the best practices in early education by integrating the local culture with the long-established and well-recognized competency standards of the CDA credential.

The UAE government is in the midst of establishing a quality ratings system. One of the requirements for an “A” rating will be based on the qualifications of teaching staff which may include the CDA credential.

Samia Kazi, Arabian Child’s Chief Operations Officer, said she believes the partnership will usher in a higher level of professional development in the Arab Region’s early childhood education field.

“There are some good initiatives for raising the quality standards of early childhood education in the Arab region but there is still a lack of awareness towards the professionalism of an early childhood educator and the competencies needed to best serve young children and their families,” she said. “The CDA addresses this need, and will soon become an international benchmark.”  

To learn more about Arabian Child, please visit www.arabianchild.org. To inquire about partnership opportunities with the Council, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Council's Manager of Domestic and International Partnerships, Brocklin Qualls, closed 2012 with a visit to Anne Arundel County, Maryland. 

Brocklin spoke to more than 20 Family Consumer Science Teachers about the CDA 2.0 transition. Teachers in Ann Arundel County will be implementing the High School CDA  into Career and Technical Program in their schools.  

Many Anne Arundel County high schools have laboratory child development programs in their schools. 

"The teachers were inspired by the training which prompted a discussion about instructors applying for their CDA," Brocklin said. 

Brocklin invited the Anne Arundel students participating in the CDA program to tour the Council in April.