Carol Kaplan
Public Relations Manager
Council for Professional Recognition
CarolK@cdacouncil.org
202-772-5476
Council for Professional Recognition Offers First ECE Credentialing Program in Africa
CAIRO, EGYPT – Dr. Valora Washington, chief executive officer of the Council for Professional Recognition, is in Cairo, Egypt to recognize the first set of early childhood educators in that country to earn the CDA® credential. The Council began administering the credential, which designates the holder as a Child Development Associate, 35 years ago to establish a competency standard for those who teach children up to 8 years of age. The Egyptian “graduates” are being honored at the Annual Excellence in Education Awards Ceremony tonight at Badr University in Cairo.
The Council, in partnership with Badr University, launched a pilot program in the summer of 2018 by training 28 teachers who completed the 10-week CDA® course on the Badr University campus. Since then, the program has grown throughout Egypt, expanded to Ghana, and has now trained nearly 100 teachers on the African continent.
“Bringing the CDA® program to Egypt has been critical to ensuring the future success of the country’s children by establishing a competency standard for early childhood educators,” Dr. Washington said. “The number of children aged 5 and under is expected to grow by a million per year over the next ten years, so the Egyptian government knows it must meet the need for more early childhood education, and improving teacher skills through the CDA® credential is an important part of fulfilling that need.”
The Egypt program has also trained 14 CDA Professional Development (PD) Specialists™ who visit the teachers on-site to evaluate their practical skills in the classroom. The evaluations, combined with an exam, are considered before awarding the CDA® designation.
To date, the Council has issued more than 800,000 CDA® credentials to early childhood educators throughout the world.
ABOUT THE COUNCIL FOR PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
The Council for Professional Recognition promotes improved performance and recognition of professionals in the early childhood education of children ages zero to 5 years old. The Council recognizes and credentials professionals who work in all types of early care and education settings –Head Start, pre-k, infant-toddler, family childcare, and home visitor programs. As a nonprofit organization, the Council sets policies and procedures for assessment and credentialing and publishes industry-leading training books and workbooks, including its CDA Competency Standards and the Essentials for Working with Young Children textbook and workbook (2nd edition), all of which are available in English and Spanish. www.cdacouncil.org.
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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.
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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