The Executive Director of the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Sandy Spavone, has expressed her passion for the role of early childhood education opportunities within CTE programs. We had the pleasure to sit down with Sandy Spavone at the 2021 Early Educators Leadership Conference (EELC) for an interview on early childhood within Family and Consumer Sciences programs.
“It is an exciting opportunity for today’s youth to see that they can have that input into the next generation of children and make a difference,” she says. “Students sometimes don’t think early childhood is a career they want to do, and then they get hooked. If we don’t introduce it to them, they might not think of it as a career that they would like to explore and prepare for. So, I really feel that giving them that exploratory opportunity—letting them get in there, see what it’s like, and lighting the inspiration in their heart— is the most exciting thing that we can do.” You can watch the full video here.
Established in 1945, the FCCLA focuses on preparing students to become successful family members, wage earners and community leaders. And early childhood programs are a key part of the Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum, the base for FCCLA.
In high school, students begin to earn the requirements for the CDA®, which Sandy says is a credential that many “states and a lot of our schools are really trying to encourage the students to participate in, to fill the workforce need for early childhood educators and get them ready to be part of that career.”
If you are interested in establishing a CDA high school CTE program or would like to learn more about the benefits of the program, we encourage you to visit our High School Pathways page. You will have access to our webinar, fact sheet and FAQs. In addition, you can download our free CDA high school handbook. The handbook provides templates, workbooks, budgets, and guides for engaging administrators, instructors, and students in creating a sustainable high school program.
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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.
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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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