Abena Ocran-Jackson: Hungry to Help CDAs

Abena, the Council’s VP of Credentialing and Programs, found her path in life as a college student when she was introduced to the National Association for the Education of Young Children by her professor. “She informed me that NAEYC was hiring child development students like me as interns,” Abena recalls, “so I applied for a part-time job in their resource sales department. I got the job, and while working for NAEYC, I met Dr. Sue Bredekamp, the director of accreditation and the Council’s future director of research. She encouraged me to apply for a position in her department, and I did, after working for a few years as an early childhood teacher. I love working with children,” Abena explains, “but my experience in the classroom made me realize I was more interested in the broader issue of quality in teaching.”

And Abena would go on to promote NAEYC’s standards of accreditation for 16 years, a time in which she rose from accreditation coordinator to senior director of accreditation. During her time at NAEYC, Abena helped advance their work to professionalize the early childhood education field through higher education and career pathways that often began with the Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™. And she was an advocate for the CDA® even before she joined the Council almost ten years ago as its senior manager of credentialing and program services.

“While I was at NAEYC, I was introduced to a family child care provider named Janine who wanted to know the point of earning a CDA,” Abena recalls. “Like many family child care providers, she worked long hours that made it hard to advance her professional growth. She was also confident about her ability to take care of children without earning a credential.” Still, it was worth the effort as Abena told Janine, and Abena spoke as both a professional in credentialing and a mom whose son had spent time in a family child care setting.

“I knew from personal experience what parents value in family child care,” Abena says. “They want a family child care provider to be an educator, not just a babysitter. So, I urged Janine to earn a CDA. It was both a way to boost her skills and market herself as someone who’s serious about educating the children she serves, key points that made an impact on Janine after we had a few conversations,” Abena recalls. “She and two of her staff members winded up going through the credentialing process, and I think expressing my viewpoint as a parent helped open their eyes to the value of the CDA.”

And Abena has continued to make a strong case for the CDA at the Council where she leads a vast team in helping to make the CDA process more efficient and holding up the standards of the credential. “Our goal,” Abena says, “is to provide candidates with a seamless experience and make sure the educators we credential demonstrate the essential skills to provide high-quality environments to the children and communities they serve.”

Abena also wants to make sure she provides the highest-quality services that she can to the Council, so she’s always striving to learn and grow. “I identify with the character in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, my younger son’s favorite book,” Abena says. “It teaches us about self-control since the caterpillar gobbled up everything he could until he became sick, and you must have self-control to succeed as a leader. You must also be open to growth and transformation like the caterpillar, who becomes a butterfly at the end.” So, Abena isn’t afraid to get out of her cocoon and she’s hungry for knowledge that will help her support CDAs and make changes to improve the credentialing experience “You have to challenge yourself and challenge others, too,” Abena says, and she’s always looking to gobble up new information to build her expertise and leadership skills in the credentialing field.

A few years ago, she earned the credentialing specialist certificate from the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). “It’s a six-month course that teaches you about accreditation standards, exam development, psychometrics, governance, policies and procedures,” she says. “You gain valuable insights into potential enhancements in your credentialing process and explore what it takes to develop a credential, such as the Council’s upcoming Birth to Five CDA® credential, a project my team has been proud to support. And they’re equipped to contribute to discussions about the new setting. Nearly everyone on my team has also earned the credentialing specialist certificate from ICE and it’s helped them put a sharper lens on the work they do.”

Abena encourages her team to learn because she’s committed to mentoring people, as she explains. “I’ve been fortunate to learn from many incredible mentors, including Sue Bredekamp, several of my college professors and Linda Hassan Anderson, a former head of the Council board. They showed me the value of mentoring, so I encourage my staff to grow and develop in their careers. Even if they go work in another organization, I want them to look back on how I shaped them and value the experiences they had with me and the Council.”

Abena shares her own experiences in the credentialing field by serving on the board of the Certification Network Group, a nonprofit that builds opportunities for people in the credentialing field, no matter what industry they’re in. And Abena draws comparisons from other fields to make her case for the value of the CDA. “You wouldn’t seek advice from a financial planner, real estate agent or health care professional who isn’t credentialed,” she points out. “People should have the same expectations for members of the early childhood profession. And educators who earn CDAs demonstrate their expertise in early childhood settings, elevating respect for our field,” Abena points out to the state administrators, higher education institutions and early childhood program directors with whom she speaks nationwide.

“CDA holders,” as Abena explains, “have an edge over educators with a college degree in early learning. To earn the credential, they must have a knowledge of theory and gain hands-on, practical skills and competency through their 480 hours of experience in an early childhood setting, far more than college students gain while student teaching. That makes the CDA a gold standard in quality teaching, and some child care directors would rather have CDA holders than people who only have college degrees as educators in their classrooms.”

At the same time, Abena strongly values the role of a college degree in supporting professional growth, increasing earning potential and career advancement. So, her team is actively working with institutions of higher education to expand recognition of the CDA for college credit. “We talk with colleges about how the CDA competencies align with their early childhood education and development curriculums. We also advocate for raising the number of credits that CDA holders should receive. And we’re gaining traction. More state policy makers are recognizing the CDA as the best first step toward building strong career pathways for early childhood teachers.”

Increased funding for the CDA is also building interest in the credential among the members of the early childhood field, as Abena points out. “People who didn’t know about the CDA are becoming aware of its value and realizing how it can raise their value in the early childhood market,” she says. “After earning a CDA, they also gain the confidence to go on for an associate or bachelor’s degree, and the increase in articulation agreements gives them even more inducement to advance their education. If you are part of a college or university, let’s work together to elevate the CDA and open more doors for the educators who are shaping the future of our children.”

Another part of the Council’s commitment is to help professionalize the early childhood field, and the impressive growth of the CDA is advancing that goal, Abena points out. “As part of the credentialing community, I’ve come to appreciate just how far ahead the Council is in terms of reach and impact. When I share that we issue an average of 40,000 credentials a year, it blows my colleagues’ minds. We’re leading the field with purpose and pride.”

The Council’s impact isn’t just about the quantity of CDAs that it awards. It’s also about the quality and integrity of the credential, as Abena adds. “No other organization is preparing competent educators like we are, and that’s strengthened the Council’s confidence in its leadership within the credentialing space. We’re making meaningful progress, and I’m excited about the direction we’re heading. The Council is evolving with the needs of the field, and I look forward to the day when the CDA is fully embedded in the career ladder for educators in every state.” With Abena’s leadership, the CDA, like the very hungry caterpillar, has sprouted wings that have helped the credential reach new heights and expanded its impact across the early childhood education landscape.