“It Takes a Big Heart to Help Shape Little Minds!” –Anonymous
Dear Colleagues,
Week of the Young Child kicked off at the start of this month in early learning programs across the country. They marked the week’s events in their own way, and Children’s Village Preschool of Orange, California, had a fun take on Work Together Wednesday. They proclaimed it to also be Sports Day. So, the preschool encouraged children and staff to dress for their favorite sport or show team spirit for their favorite team by wearing a team jersey, uniform or shirt.
And team spirit matters in the early childhood profession, so this is also a time for our early childhood teachers to speak out for the concerns of their field. And the National Association for the Education of Young Children suggested some ways for them to mark Music Monday, early in the month, by joining the chorus for change. Teachers could work with their state’s advocates to help lawmakers sign proclamations that honor and advance the ECE profession. Once they have secured a proclamation, teachers can share it on social media, tag the elected officials who signed it and thank them for being champions of the early childhood profession.
Educators deserve kudos for the way they support our nation’s diverse young learners. Our educators are also diverse, including a few we would like to acknowledge as we mark Arab American Heritage Month. Najwa Dahdah, Ines Ben Cheikh and Fatima Boubina come from a culture that holds our field in high esteem. “A teacher,” as the Koran points out, “is like a candle that consumes itself to light the way for others.”
And teachers also need someone to light the way for them so they can advance in their careers. So, this month we profile two early learning professionals who are making it possible for more people to take CDA® courses and have more access to the PD Specialists they need to earn the credential. They both live in Nebraska, a state where there is a large gap between supply and demand for the child care that working families need.
So, Linda Reddish supports the workforce behind the workforce as a liaison for Nebraska’s Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ Professional Development Specialist initiative. She looks at the big picture in ECE as she partners with the Council and Nebraska Department of Education to provide PD Specialists statewide. Together, they’ve mapped out a plan for areas where PD Specialists are scarce and waged a recruitment campaign that has raised their number. “And I also go out and do visits,” Linda says, “since I want to stay grounded in the day-to-day reality of our educators’ lives.”
Jené Chapman is also in touch with teachers statewide as a program specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education Office of Early Childhood Training Center. Providers, as she’s seen, are often too busy to be aware of their chances for growth as professionals in ECE. So, Jené gets the word out about opportunities for training, mentoring and assistance building a child care business. She has also formed a CDA Roundtable where she teams up with colleagues across Nebraska to break down the barriers that stop people from earning their CDA.
Teamwork also leads to success for children, as they learn when playing sports. Games like baseball, basketball and soccer give them great chances to pick up character traits like confidence, self-control and a sense of cooperation, as Dr. Calvin Moore relates this month in his blog. He also reveals the life lessons he’s picked up from playing tennis, and he’s using them to make a full court press for equity in early learning. It isn’t easy, but we have to persist, as the great Billie Jean King understood. “Champions do not quit,” she once said. “They keep playing until they are successful.” So, let’s all go to bat for young children every week of the year.
Cheering you on,
The Council for Professional Recognition
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Chief Operations Officer
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
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.
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