For more than 30 years, the Council for Professional Recognition has promoted improved performance and recognition for professionals in the early childhood education of children from birth to five years old.
Through our comprehensive assessment of educator knowledge and classroom competence, the prestigious Child Development Associate® (CDA) credentials have set the standard for what early childhood educators should know and be able to do. The CDA® is a symbol of quality and trust.
Trust and stringent standards also are critical for training organizations. To that end, the Council wants to ensure all CDA students can obtain the high-quality training they are seeking from the variety of education providers in the field. That’s why our CDA® Gold StandardSM designation for training organizations is so important.
The Gold Standard is an earned recognition that demonstrates qualified organizations have met our rigorous criteria for student services, sound business practices and professional development – all designed to prepare students for the CDA certification exam and verification visit.
The need for the CDA® Gold StandardSM is clear: Early childhood educators and home visitors have historically come from a wide range of backgrounds — some of which require formal education and some that do not. The Council’s decades of experience and scores of research both demonstrate that students working to become early childhood educators don’t necessarily have the assurance that the courses or training in which they are participating will adequately prepare them for teaching and caring for young children.
In particular, there is a dearth of adequate training with respect to dual-language learners and children with special needs.
“About 20 percent of CDA and associate’s programs and about 10 percent of bachelor’s and master’s programs did not require any coursework in working with bilingual children learning English as a second language,” researchers from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina reported in 2006. “With the national increase in ethnic and linguistic diversity among young children, it may be important for all programs to require coursework in this area.”
The researchers also looked at practicum requirements for early educators and found that some programs — specifically 4 percent of associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs and 33 percent of master’s programs — required no student teaching or field-placement experience. Of all the associate degree programs, only 62 percent required practicum experience in working with infants and toddlers.
In addition, students in only 41 percent of those two-year programs gained experience working with children with disabilities.
That’s where the Gold Standard comes in. It is now more important than ever for those entering the early childhood education field to know how to identify the programs that will provide both comprehensive training and solid practical experience in a range of early learning programs. Organizations with the Gold Standard designation are required to adhere to very strict rules and competencies. Those organizations must show:
There is ample evidence that organizations that go through the Gold Standard process are not only shoring up their programs, but they’re also seeing strong returns in enrollment and recognition.
Among the testimonials:
Columbus State Community College, Columbus, OH: “Since receiving the CDA Gold Standard recognition, we are getting more interest and inquiries about how to enroll in our CDA preparation program. I would also like to add that the support we are receiving from the leaders at our institution is amazing.”
Martin Luther College, New Ulm, MN: “Going through the Gold Standard application process helped us review and improve our program. We have had a good response to our program following the awarding of the Gold Standard.”
ProSolutions Training, Atlanta: “We also believe the CDA Gold Standard provides a level of validation to customers who may not be familiar with ProSolutions Training. This endorsement verifies that our coursework has been reviewed and meets the highest standards for CDA coursework.”
Simply put, the CDA® Gold StandardSM is an answer to the long-needed collaboration between high-quality early childhood educators, administrators, colleges, universities and training organizations that will add value to and ensure integrity in the early childhood profession.
To find out more about how your training organization might earn a CDA® Gold StandardSM, click here: www.cdacouncil.org/goldstandard
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Vice President of Strategic Alliances
Elisa Shepherd is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances at the Council, where she leads initiatives to advance the Council’s mission and strategic plan through designing, managing, and executing a comprehensive stakeholder relationship strategy.
With over 25 years of experience in early childhood education (ECE), Elisa has dedicated her career to developing impactful programs, professional development opportunities, and public policies that support working families, young children, and ECE staff. Before joining the Council, Elisa held numerous roles within the childcare industry. Most recently, she served as Associate Vice President at The Learning Experience and as Senior Manager at KinderCare Education, where she influenced government affairs and public policies across 40 states.
Elisa’s commitment to leadership is reflected in her external roles on the Early Care and Education Consortium Board of Directors, the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees, and as the DEI Caucus Leader for KinderCare Education. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leader in Early Childhood by Childcare Exchange’s Leadership Initiative.
Elisa earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on child development from Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
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 (CFO)
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.
Vice President of People and Culture
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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