Published by Hechinger Report on April 30, 2020
Written by Valora Washington, Ph.D.
This highly skilled work is undeserving of the “babysitter” connotation too often ascribed to it
During this time of heightened concerns about health and safety, it’s important to remember where we can find reassurance, especially for society’s youngest and most vulnerable.
Hundreds of thousands of early childhood educators around the world have benefited from training focused on how to maintain a safe environment for children; this includes practices for preventing and reducing injuries.
Working in early childhood education requires in-depth knowledge and skill. This work is highly skilled and undeserving of the “babysitter” connotation too often ascribed to it. Knowing how to promote the intellectual, emotional and physical development of young children requires deep competencies. Done well, early childhood education results in skills that benefit children over the course of their entire lives.
Many early childhood educators in the United States begin their professional pathways by earning the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential from the nonprofit Council for Professional Recognition, where I serve as CEO.
This credential, which began as part of the War on Poverty with Project Head Start, is now widely embraced by all types of public and private programs that serve young children. Over 800,000 early childhood educators have earned this credential in its 45-year history.
Over time, we’ve developed practice principles about how to best support early childhood educators. For one, we’re committed to serving all children and educators in-person, in their programs wherever they are, whether it’s a dense urban community or a remote Alaskan village.
We offer CDAs in a center-based preschool setting, a center-based infant/toddler setting, a home-based family child care setting or a home visitor setting. We also serve early childhood educators in their own languages; we’ve credentialed educators in 23 languages so far.
A group of 12 students received the first CDAs in July 1975 in Washington, D.C. Today over 800,000 CDA credentials have been issued across the nation and around the world. What makes the credential unique is that it represents multiple sources of evidence of competence: 120 hours of academic training; 480 hours of experience; a passed national exam; a portfolio; and a site visit by a professional-development specialist.
We view the CDA credential as the best first step in an early childhood educator’s career path. Since we began, the Council has been an important voice for professionalizing early childhood education to increase support for — and the reputation of — the educators and the vital work they do.
We continue to grow as we keep an eye on the quality of the professional development that early childhood educators receive, to ensure their work continues to meet the high standards that help lead to positive long-term outcomes for children.
That’s why, in 2017, we introduced the CDA Gold Standard, which affirms the quality of training and professional development programs across the United States.
This story about certification for early childhood educators was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up here for Hechinger’s newsletter.
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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.
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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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Janie Payne is the Vice President of People and Culture for the Council for Professional Recognition. Janie is responsible for envisioning, developing, and executing initiatives that strategically manage talent and culture to align people strategies with the overarching business vision of the Council. Janie is responsible for driving organizational excellence through strategic talent practices, orchestrating workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management as well as a myriad of other Human Resources Programs. She is accountable for driving effectiveness by shaping organizational structure for optimal efficiency. Janie oversees strategies that foster a healthy culture to include embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.
In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
Janie began her career with Verizon Communications (formerly Bell Atlantic), where she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, where she directed a diversity program that resulted in significant improvement in diversity profile measures. Janie was also a faculty member for the company’s Black Managers Workshop, a training program designed to provide managers of color with the skills needed to overcome barriers to their success that were encountered because of race. She initiated a company-wide effort to establish team-based systems and structures to impact corporate bottom line results which was recognized by the Department of Labor. Janie was one of the first African American women to be featured on the cover of Human Resources Executive magazine.
Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
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