Five Reasons to Earn Your CDA
SPONSORED BLOG Whether you’re just starting out in the early childhood field, or you’ve been teaching for years, chances are you’ve heard the term CDA at least a few times. The Child Development Associate® (CDA)...
The news coming out of early education has been discouraging and disheartening of late, with so many of our colleagues having to close their centers and home based-care programs and not knowing whether they will be able to reopen again, ever.
Last week I saw an encouraging study from the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. The research found that child care is not associated with the spread of the coronavirus*. This is a bright spot for us since we know that early educators have been called upon during this unprecedented time to fill a critical need in order to help parents return to work.
According to the study, which surveyed 57,000 child care providers across all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, children in child care centers present virtually no risk of transmitting COVID-19 to adults. Furthermore, survey responses in the study indicated that most child care centers have observed new guidelines like mask wearing, hand washing and contact tracing.
Zigler, whom the center at Yale is named for, is known as the father of the CDA and one of the original architects of the Head Start program. He recognized that early educators are critical to support the learning and development of young children. His legacy will forever shine a light on the need to support and educate children.
As the Council just celebrated the 45th anniversary of the CDA, I am reminded of my own experience as an educator in an early child care center and how that experience shaped me; it helped me on the journey to become the person I am today. I am hopeful, with this data and other studies like it, that so many other children will again be able to experience learning together in a nurturing and safe environment.
*The study found that child care did not heighten the risk of COVID-19 infection in areas with low COVID-19 spread and in programs which took safety measures such as mask wearing, hand washing, symptom screening, social distancing, and limiting group sizes.
SPONSORED BLOG Whether you’re just starting out in the early childhood field, or you’ve been teaching for years, chances are you’ve heard the term CDA at least a few times. The Child Development Associate® (CDA)...
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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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