Usma Mohamed
news@cdacouncil.org
WASHINGTON — Zoe Labarthe, a Florida high school student, is proud to have earned her Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential while finishing her other studies. Soon, even more high school students will join her in receiving a CDA®, the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education and a key pathway for career advancement in the field.
The Council for Professional Recognition, the nonprofit that sets the policies and procedures for CDA assessment, is releasing the “Child Development Associate® (CDA) Handbook for High School: A Guide to Advocacy and Implementation.” The Handbook includes planning/design tools, resources and individualized instruction to create a sustainable High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. It’s designed to help administrators and teachers launch and sustain high school early childhood education training through CTE programs to prepare their students for the CDA credential.
The digital handbook provides a systems approach to earning a CDA in high school through a uniform framework with resources to guide instructional planning and support individualized lessons. The Council’s goal is to guide instructors in planning for implementing classroom and lab experiences that naturally align with the CDA process.
Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., CEO of the Council, says, “This handbook is an essential tool for high school career and technical education leaders who play an important role in helping their students succeed. This effort fulfills many needs — the CDA provides vocational training, it creates a desire for additional education, it further professionalizes early education and it helps to meet America’s need in the early education sector.”
The Council began its CDA high school program a decade ago; since then over 3,000 high school students have earned CDAs in their junior or senior years.
The CDA is based on a set of time-tested, research-based Competency Standards that guide early childhood educators as they work toward becoming qualified teachers of young children. These professionals know how to put the CDA Competency Standards into practice and understand how the Standards help children succeed in moving from one developmental stage to another.
Labarthe says “One of the main things I’ve learned from the CDA process is how to interact with children…there’s a lot of emotional and positive reinforcement we need to give them.”
High school students who earn their CDA gain experience that prepares them to enter early childhood education with confidence in their knowledge of child cognitive, social and emotional development.
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 birth to 5 years old. The Council recognizes and credentials professionals who work in all types of early care and education settings including 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. To date, over 800,000 CDA credentials have been issued around the world. For more information, visit 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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