A Million Reasons to Give ThanksWe may need to rethink the way we talk to young children about Thanksgiving. You likely know the feel-good story that many folks heard growing up. The Pilgrims fled England looking for religious freedom and landed on Plymouth Rock. The Native people who lived there, the Wampanoag, shared their land, food and knowledge of farming techniques with the new settlers, leading to the Pilgrims’ first successful harvest. In 1621, the grateful Pilgrims sat down with the Wampanoag people to break bread. This was the first Thanksgiving feast and Americans have been celebrating it ever since. Yet it’s not actually how the real story unfolded. I remember trying to explain it to my oldest daughter when she at five-years-old wondered why the Pilgrims and Native Americans stopped getting along.
Granted, the feast did happen, according to a colonist’s letter, but Thanksgiving didn’t become an official celebration until the Civil War, when writer Sarah Hale proposed it to unite the nation—a fact that I’m sure many of you didn’t know if you’re like me. We have traditionally left out what happened to Native communities in the centuries since 1621. “It’s not a pretty history by any stretch of the imagination,” said Bettina Washington, the Wampanoag historic preservation officer. “But we need the story to be told truthfully”—a challenge that educators and parents face at this time of year.
This year, I suggest we think of ways to celebrate the many contributions of Native Americans, especially since November is not just when we mark Thanksgiving. It’s also Native American Heritage Month, and that’s a time to tell children about the wide impact that Native people have made. According to the USDA, 60 percent of the world’s food supply comes from corn and potatoes, foods that Native Americans were the first to grow. Native ceremonies, symbols and ideals of selfless service laid the foundation for groups like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. Native Americans built pathways that would lead to our first roads and railways. Their knowledge of plant life would lead to our medicines, soaps and clothes. And their political traditions made a lasting impact, too. Many concepts in the U.S. Constitution stem from the Iroquois Confederacy of 1142, the oldest democracy that still exists. Honoring these achievements and acknowledging the true story of Native Americans is crucial for a full telling of the American story.
“We cannot ignore the injustices that have been done to Native Americans,” said Dr. Paul Gothold, San Diego County Superintendent of Schools. “And acknowledging these injustices doesn’t take away anything from the pride many feel about our country and its history. Learning from the past and trying to do better is what will propel us forward as a society. It’s also one of the ways that we can give our historically underserved students the education and future they deserve”—a goal that depends on giving them highly qualified teachers.
I know that all children learn best when they have educators who look like them and share their culture. So, I’m committed to bringing the CDA® to a diverse pool of early childhood teachers, including those from our nation’s Native tribes. And this month I was pleased to honor Jada Vargas, a member of the Apache Tribe, for being the Council’s millionth CDA. Jada and her mom travelled from their home in Arizona to meet the Council’s board members and staff in Washington, DC. There was good food and great times as we marked her achievement and historic role in the Council’s work to provide all young learners with the skilled teachers they need.
Jada’s goal as a teacher is to improve life for the members of her tribe and lead them to brighter days. “As a Native American,” she told me, “I feel I have a responsibility to address some of the issues my people face, whether it’s poverty, struggles with parenting or failure to see the value of education. I also want to help preserve Apache culture and language as a part of my classroom practice with young children.”
As I joined her and my colleagues at the Council, I was thankful that we had succeeded in awarding a million CDAs. Each one of our credential holders is a reason to give thanks, I thought as I raised a glass to Jada. I also reflected on how we should talk to our children about Thanksgiving. The cure for the feel-good story isn’t guilt or feeling bad. Instead, it’s to emphasize the importance of giving thanks to the people who welcome us and help us thrive. We shouldn’t forget the tragedies of the past, and we should resolve to do better in the future. We should try to treat one another as all members of the same tribe.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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