The news coming out of early education has been disheartening of late. Many of our colleagues have had to close their centers and home based-care programs—and many don’t know if they’ll ever be able to reopen. Still, there are some grounds for hope.
Recently, the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development & Social Policy at Yale University released an encouraging study. The research found that child care is not associated with the spread of the coronavirus when programs follow safety precautions. This is a bright spot for us, since we know that early educators have been called on in this unique time to fill a critical need for parents who must return to work.
Military families relocate 10 times more often than civilian families – on average, every 2 or 3 years.i This constant change of location can create stress on military families with young children. It also emphasizes the...
The Council for Professional Recognition enjoyed promoting literacy in March, but as the month came to a close, we realized the need to remind everyone about the importance of literacy all year long. Literacy falls...
It can be passed off as “tradition,” but how can anyone possibly get motivated or excited by this? More importantly, how is this appropriate for young children? You might say, “Oh, but everyone in the...
Bill Hudson, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer for the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), visited the Council’s office to discuss potential partnerships and to share information about his organization with our community. NAFCC,...
We have all been victims or participants of gossip at work, and sadly, this is no different in an early childhood education setting. Maybe it’s something you overheard in the hallway about a co-worker’s romantic...
s care providers, it often becomes natural to neglect our own needs. We use up all our time making sure the children in our care are happy and cared for, often at the expense of...
I often tell the students in my capstone course, Student Teaching Practicum, how working with other teachers in the same child care room can feel like a marriage. In a good marriage, like any good...
We are pleased to announce the two winners of our 2016 Early Educators Leadership Conference (EELC) High School Leaders Scholarship. Our winners are Mary Matthews of Highland, Utah, and Tracy Westog of Woodstown, New Jersey....
The way early educators use technology today to help young children learn is a relatively new field of scientific research. There is a vast market for phones, tablets, and televisions, which are types of screens...
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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