The Child Development Associate® (CDA) is the most widely known credential in early childhood education. When a person earns their CDA®, it demonstrates that they possess the knowledge and skills needed to work effectively with colleagues, students and families.
There are a number of reasons why you should earn your CDA—and even more to maintain it.
Here are five strong arguments for keeping up with your credential.
First and foremost, it’s the most-recognized accreditation in the early childhood field, and an important step if you’re serious about your professional (and personal) growth and development. A lot of time, teachers wonder how they can advance in their field. When you possess your credential, you open yourself up (and keep yourself open) to limitless possibilities and advancement opportunities.
Second, maintaining your CDA offers a practical way to keep your skills sharp and preserve a foundation for delivering high-quality care to young children. In turn, this will help you continue to increase your personal confidence and capabilities as an educator. When you’re confident, you raise your productivity, communicate more effectively and stand out from your peers.
Third, you’ll continue to be exposed to a large community of qualified, hardworking early childhood educators and professionals. Networking is an essential part of a job search, so having these relationships and connections will give you more opportunities to advance your career.
Fourth, by holding your CDA credential, you are more marketable. The CDA demonstrates quality, which boosts parents’ sense of confidence and trust in you. Schools and centers can use this to attract new families. When enrollment increases, the bottom line improves and potentially translates into higher wages. Additionally, many states and accrediting bodies require teachers to have their CDA to hold certain positions.
Finally, you should always keep your CDA current because earning your credential was an investment in the first place. Getting a credential back is usually much harder than keeping it up to date.
If you’re thinking about earning your CDA, look no further. Start with ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI), a Comprehensive CDA Gold StandardSM provider. As a Gold Standard provider, CCEI has successfully demonstrated that our program meets the Council’s three industry-leading principles: alignment with the CDA formal early childhood education coursework, sound business policies, and practices and quality services that meet students’ educational and professional needs.
So, what are you waiting for? Start a new program today or click HERE to take advantage of CCEI’s Renewal Amnesty offer—a limited-time chance to get CDA renewal training at just $149. Take advantage of this great opportunity by using promo code RenewalAmnesty21 now through May 31, 2021.
In the past few days, the information about the coronavirus has increased significantly. Schools and early childhood centers are being asked to prepare for a nationwide surge in cases. We want to let you know...
You can choose any career you want when you grow up, except for early childhood education. Whether explicit or implied, this is the message that our society — and to some degree our own profession...
Almost all of us have seen the signs: a child who cowers in a corner instead of playing with classmates, another who lashes out when asked to put away toys. It could be a normal...
With 24/7 access to social media and news these days, it’s hard to shelter young children from talk about war. In the past few days, teachers in schools and early childhood programs report hearing children...
You can choose any career you want when you grow up, except for early childhood education. Whether explicit or implied, this is the message that our society — and to some degree our own profession...
With the first round of Democratic presidential debates behind us, we’ve heard from candidates about their proposals and views on a number of issues, ranging from foreign policy to health care to the economy. Affordable...
For more than 30 years, the Council for Professional Recognition has promoted improved performance and recognition for professionals in the early childhood education of children from birth to five years old. Through our comprehensive assessment...
Early childhood educators can ease the new school year transition for young children and their parents using creative ways to integrate the children into activities and ensuring families feel comfortable by building trust through routine...
One of the primary competencies that early-childhood educators develop when they earn a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential is building strong relationships with children’s families — including families who don’t speak English at home. While...
Vice President of Strategic Alliances
Elisa Shepherd is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances at the Council, where she leads initiatives to advance the Council’s mission and strategic plan through designing, managing, and executing a comprehensive stakeholder relationship strategy.
With over 25 years of experience in early childhood education (ECE), Elisa has dedicated her career to developing impactful programs, professional development opportunities, and public policies that support working families, young children, and ECE staff. Before joining the Council, Elisa held numerous roles within the childcare industry. Most recently, she served as Associate Vice President at The Learning Experience and as Senior Manager at KinderCare Education, where she influenced government affairs and public policies across 40 states.
Elisa’s commitment to leadership is reflected in her external roles on the Early Care and Education Consortium Board of Directors, the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees, and as the DEI Caucus Leader for KinderCare Education. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leader in Early Childhood by Childcare Exchange’s Leadership Initiative.
Elisa earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on child development from Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Andrew Davis serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Council. In this role, Andrew oversees the Programs Division, which includes the following operational functions: credentialing, growth and business development, marketing and communications, public policy and advocacy, research, innovation, and customer relations.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in the early care and education field. Most recently, Andrew served as Senior Vice President of Partnership and Engagement with Acelero Learning and Shine Early Learning, where he led the expansion of state and community-based partnerships to produce more equitable systems of service delivery, improved programmatic quality, and greater outcomes for communities, children and families. Prior to that, he served as Director of Early Learning at Follett School Solutions.
Andrew earned his MBA from the University of Baltimore and Towson University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland – University College.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Jan Bigelow serves as Chief Financial Officer at the Council and has been with the organization since February of 2022.
Jan has more than 30 years in accounting and finance experience, including public accounting, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has held management-level positions with BDO Seidman, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Pew Center for Global Climate Change, Communities In Schools, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and American Humane. Since 2003, Jan has worked exclusively in the non-profit sector where she has been a passionate advocate in improving business operations in order to further the mission of her employers.
Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
Vice President of People and Culture
Janie Payne is the Vice President of People and Culture for the Council for Professional Recognition. Janie is responsible for envisioning, developing, and executing initiatives that strategically manage talent and culture to align people strategies with the overarching business vision of the Council. Janie is responsible for driving organizational excellence through strategic talent practices, orchestrating workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management as well as a myriad of other Human Resources Programs. She is accountable for driving effectiveness by shaping organizational structure for optimal efficiency. Janie oversees strategies that foster a healthy culture to include embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.
In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
Janie began her career with Verizon Communications (formerly Bell Atlantic), where she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, where she directed a diversity program that resulted in significant improvement in diversity profile measures. Janie was also a faculty member for the company’s Black Managers Workshop, a training program designed to provide managers of color with the skills needed to overcome barriers to their success that were encountered because of race. She initiated a company-wide effort to establish team-based systems and structures to impact corporate bottom line results which was recognized by the Department of Labor. Janie was one of the first African American women to be featured on the cover of Human Resources Executive magazine.
Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
Read our monthly e-newsletter and keep up to date on all Council programs and services, as well as the latest news in the world of early care and education. Subscribe today to stay connected with us. You’ll receive timely information on events, webinars, special promotions, and more.
