Millions of working parents are seeking quality early learning for their children. And the Council has been doing its share to answer the demand. We recently awarded our millionth CDA® to Jada Vargas of Arizona. This special credential holder is a member of the Apache Tribe and graduated from high school last May with her CDA. Now she urges other high school students to also earn their CDA. It takes some work, “but it’s so worth it,” she tells us in this month’s edition. “Earning my CDA taught me new ways to work effectively in the classroom, so I continued pushing myself each day—and last month I finally received my CDA certificate in the mail.” This cause for celebration also showed Jada that persistence pays off. “If you keep going forward, you will see the benefit of your CDA journey toward a career in ECE.”
Kimberly Krzanowskialso works to get this message across at Delaware State University, where she heads the Early Childhood Innovation Center. ECIC provides the state’s early childhood teachers with technology, coaching, financial aid and access to coursework as they work toward the CDA, associate degree and bachelor’s degree. The teachers receive holistic support and in return, they must produce results. “We have a grant from the state that supports our work,” Kimberly tells us this month, “and we’re using a lot of it to help people earn their CDAs.” As a condition of the grant, ECIC has to ensure that people complete the program, Kimberly says. “So, one of our taglines is ‘Insisting on success.’”
We’re failing working parents if we don’t provide them with competent teachers, as the state of Delaware knows, so it’s making the CDA a requirement for entry level positions in the early childhood field. And it’s not the only state that’s taking steps to ensure more people earn a CDA. Recently, North Carolina passed a law including the CDA in its Quality Rating and Improvement System, or QRIS. Starting next month, the CDA will count toward filling the requirements for a star-rated license, a change that could benefit working parents. Policy makers and proponents of the law hope that it will ease recruitment for child care workers in the state amid the staffing shortages that affect our field across the country.
This national dilemma has also inspired a new bill on Capitol Hill, where Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) have introduced legislation to boost the supply of qualified teachers in Early Head Start classrooms. The bipartisan HEADWAY Act (Head Start Education and Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act) would help address child care workforce shortages by allowing Early Head Start classroom staff to teach and earn their CDAs at the same time.
Educators who hold a CDA are in high demand, as you’ll see from the data in our 2022 CDA Credential Holders Survey. That’s because they play a key role in our country, Sens. Warnock and Braun agree. “I’ve seen how hard it is for hardworking Georgia families to get affordable, quality child care,” Warnock says. “The lack of child care professionals in their communities puts a strain on parents and hurts our economy.” So, the bill fills a pressing need, as Braun adds. “One of the top concerns I hear from families is the challenge of finding affordable, high-quality child care. And the bill will help them by “creating flexibility and opportunity for child care professionals, without increasing government spending.”
Employers can also play a role in providing people with the child care that they need, Dr. Moore tells us as he marks National Working Parents Day in his new blog. Sadly, many parents don’t have as much to celebrate as they should because the child care shortage has forced them to leave their jobs. When they do, the turnover and loss of talent also hurts the bottom line for business. So, more companies are looking to recruit and retain staff by offering child care solutions, especially as pandemic-era funding for child care comes to an end. Companies have come to see that their business—and the economy as a whole—runs on child care, Dr. Moore explains. America depends on skilled teachers like those who earn a CDA.
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SPONSORED BLOG Whether you’re embarking on professional development (PD) to meet state requirements, or you want to invest in your own growth, PD has a number of benefits. First, it helps ensure you’re keeping up...
In the world of early childhood education, there’s a remarkable achievement that more people should know about – earning a Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™. The Council for Professional Recognition, a nonprofit that supports early...
SPONSORED BLOG Whether you’re just starting out in the early childhood field, or you’ve been teaching for years, chances are you’ve heard the term CDA at least a few times. The Child Development Associate® (CDA)...
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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.
Janice Bigelow
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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