CCEI Embraces Cutting Edge Work to Help Students

And last year, CCEI reached a new milestone when the Council recognized the Duluth, GA, training group as a CDA Gold Standard organization after reviewing the services and training it has provided to more than 12,000 early childhood professionals from the CDA and other certificate programs.

“Our partnership with ChildCare Education Institute expands the reach of the Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential, a best first step for educators who want to make a difference in children’s lives,” said Dr. Valora Washington, the Council’s CEO.

“CCEI is proud of our 10-year partnership with the Council for Professional Recognition. Together, we have worked to ensure CDA students’ success with high-quality training that encompasses all their needs,” said Maria C. Taylor, president and CEO of CCEI.

Why have these students chosen to get their training at CCEI? A number of reasons stand out:

• Alignment with the formal education coursework found in the CDA’s eight subject fields
• Sound business policies and practices
• Dedicated support from an education coach who mentors and supports students through the entire program
• And an ongoing, long-term partnership agreement with Ashford University that allows CDA students to transfer eight credits for their coursework at CCEI, along with providing tuition cuts and other cost reductions.

The agreement with Ashford is a huge selling point because it’s similar to what’s happening in some states – such as Virginia – that are now automatically transferring students’ early education credits at community colleges to four-year schools.

Many folks have posted online testimonials about the way CCEI meets its students’ needs.

“I would like to express my appreciation to CCEI for all you do to help early child professionals,” said one staff development specialist from Virginia. “Because the programs are online and self-paced, it has been convenient in assisting our training department with helping staff achieve their early childhood credentials.”

The convenience of the program also is a particular selling point for people like one Texas CCEI student who works a grueling 10 to 12 hours a day.

“The flexibility and staff support made it possible for me to finish,” she said. “I enjoyed and recommend the CDA program.”

So did a new mom from Michigan who was wondering if she should open a day care center.

“I found these classes to be exactly what I needed,” she said. “They not only convinced me to push on but also gave me the tools I need to support my family.”

CCEI delivers what students need because it offers more than 150 professional development courses based on cutting-edge research in ECE. The coursework covers the gamut of the field from reflective practices in early childhood education to the use of robots for teaching design, building, engineering and programming to preschool children.

Students can choose from courses in infant care and toddler safety; health, safety and nutrition; administration and management; diversity and inclusion; guidance and classroom management; family and community engagement or preschool care. And there’s even more since CCEI adds more than 30 hours of new course content to its curriculum every year.

Recent additions in 2018 include effective class meetings in early childhood, addressing homelessness, trouble-free transitions that teach, character education, a course that helps build self-respect, a course that explores concern for other people and the desire to make a difference in the communities where we live.

This comprehensive and innovative approach is recognition that early childhood educators must wear many hats in both their communities and their schools.

“As a new teacher, your job description may change each day,” CCEI tells its students.

“Teaching,” it pointed out in a recent newsletter, “is full of responsibilities, roles and challenges. Like most worthwhile endeavors, it brings both challenges and rewards. Be flexible and you will most readily enjoy the rewards of teaching young children.”

But the ones who will really score wins are the children and families these educators serve, as the Council’s Dr. Washington pointed out.

“It’s exciting to think about the many young children, families and communities that will benefit from the high-quality education and training students receive from the ChildCare Education Institute,” she said.

There’s no doubt that its comprehensive, online training gets students on track for great careers in the early childhood field.