Usma Mohamed
news@cdacouncil.org
WASHINGTON — The Council for Professional Recognition, the nonprofit organization that supports early childhood education professionals and administers the Child Development Associate® (CDA), is pleased to announce major support for one of its initiatives.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has provided $300,000 to advance the Reimagining the Child Development Associate Credentialing Process initiative through the design and implementation of an improved equitable CDA credentialing process.
The Council engaged over 5,000 individuals, including CDA recipients and applicants, community members, and stakeholders through surveys, focus groups, and interviews around the CDA process. This initiative does not change the actual CDA credential. The Council ensures that candidates who earn the CDA credential are well prepared to foster the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth of young children.
Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., the Council’s CEO, says, “We thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for its trust and commitment to early childhood education professionals and to the Council for Professional Recognition. The Council stands firm on its history of being an example of promoting equity in the ECE community, most prominent among which is the racial and linguistic diversity of the individuals that the CDA credentialing program produces. This support will allow us to build on this important legacy.”
In the past decades, the Council has grown the CDA program in vast numbers and positioned it to serve as a major pipeline for racially and linguistically diverse people to enter careers in early childhood education, having awarded over 800,000 credentials in its history.
Dr. Sakinah P. Harrison, program officer for education and learning at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, says, “The need to support children, their families and educators in the early care and education space has never been greater, and the Council and the CDA play essential roles in the success of our nation’s early childhood education system. Reimagining the CDA Credential Process initiative will be critical to ensuring equity across the early child care workforce and redesigning the credentialing process, so every candidate has an equitable experience from recruitment to job quality to career advancement and more.”
The CDA is the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education and is a crucial stepping stone toward career advancement in early childhood education.
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, close to one million Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials have been issued around the world. For more information, visit www.cdacouncil.org.
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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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