Dear Colleagues,
Back to school normally means new beginnings for young children. The kids are getting supplies to start programs. Educators are eager to get back to their classrooms. And parents look forward to watching their children learn. But like most things these days, the back-to-school season is far from normal. You can tell from all the steps centers are taking to reboot during the pandemic.
In Detroit, MI, the recent reopening of Blessed Beginnings child care center felt more like the start of a whole new center. Before the pandemic, students walked inside with their parents. Now the center’s owner, LaShawn Bridges, met them outside with a handheld thermometer to screen them for fever. Parents weren’t allowed in the building. As soon as students walked inside, they had to wash their hands. Everyone wore masks, and children were told not to hug teachers like they used to.
“It was awkward at first,” says Lindsay Gray, an educator at Blessed Beginnings. “The children felt things were different.” But they soon adjusted as they spent most of the day outside so teachers wouldn’t have to spend so much time sanitizing toys. And there’s a plus to this change in routine. What kids like most is being outside with their friends, as we show in a new paper on play-based learning.
“Children are also glad to be back in the classroom and put virtual learning behind them,” says Jarrell Harris, an Illinois teacher we profile this month. But their parents have concerns about sending their kids back to child care, according to Daniel Keeling, director of Kids First Learning Center in Wichita Falls, TX, where they’re also screening children, making them wash their hands and having staff wear masks all day to keep the children safe.
Despite the precautions the center is taking, parents are still fretting. “They want an idea of what the actual, physical, day-to-day steps look like,” Keeling says. Some parents ask what kind of disinfectant the center is using. Others worry about their child’s ability to learn under all the strange, new conditions, Keeling explains. “The most common question I hear is “Are you going to be able to teach them with all the measures you’re taking?'”
Parents can increase their comfort level by following some tips from the Council. Together with a newly formed advisory committee, we’ve put together a set of questions for parents to ask center directors and teachers before sending their children back to preschool. Many parents need to know what options they have as they decide whether to go back to work.
That’s a pressing issue in recent months since the closing of many child care settings has hurt parents’ careers, according to a recent survey by Care.com. More than half of parents who answered the survey say they’ve cut back on work, think they’ve let their colleagues down, or feel they’ve had a major failure on the job while juggling child care and work. Others have been pushed out of their jobs since losing their provider and haven’t been able to find the child care they need to resume work.
The pandemic has put major stress on both parents and providers, but there’s a “silver lining” to their struggles, says Chad Nunamaker, an Ohio educator we profile this month. “People are now paying more attention to child care and seeing that it’s a vital service in which we should invest.” There’s a new sense of esteem for what educators do. And that could mean the beginning of good things for our field.
With much respect and hope for a fresh restart,
The Council for Professional Recognition
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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.
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