Don’t Become a Gossip Girl at Work
We have all been victims or participants of gossip at work, and sadly, this is no different in an early childhood education setting. Maybe it’s something you overheard in the hallway about a co-worker’s romantic...
While we are all looking forward to spring and the hope it brings, this month marks a year that we have been navigating the impacts of COVID-19.
We often hear that our children are resilient, and they are, but what we hear less about are the educators. Our educators have been on the front lines from day one, supporting our youngest learners’ needs during these trying times.
Policymakers and thought leaders have said that this could be our opportunity to “fix child care.” It is the perfect storm of events: a global pandemic, more than 4 million people leaving the workforce since last year (mostly women) and 60% of child care centers being forced to close.
I arrived at the Council for Professional Recognition almost a year ago, and as a holder of our Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential myself, I could see how these early childhood educators were being put to the test of their lives and they were ready for it!
The child care industry should be recognized as an integral part of our greater infrastructure. This idea is taking hold with policy advocates arguing that recognizing the industry in this way will not only allow parents to return and continue to work but also potentially create new jobs.
Furthermore, we need to recognize that these educators deserve wages that enable economic mobility. Historically early childhood educators have been Latinas and Asian and Black women. In 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median hourly wage for these educators was just $11.65 an hour. Research shows us that every dollar invested in early childhood programs is well spent, yielding between $4 and $12 in return.
Our CDAs tell us that they are prepared to support families. Their training allows them to understand what our children are going through while helping them navigate their feelings and understanding of what is happening in the world around them. These jobs by their very nature require in-person, individual connections between the educator and student, not to mention that these early years are crucial for a child’s development.
I am opening myself up to cautious hope. I have seen and spoken to educators who are encouraged by the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement about the priority for early educators to be vaccinated as soon as possible. This is one step in the right direction, but we need to see more things like this happen.
We have been working with several states to help those interested find their way to early education. Just last month, the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood, Maryland Family Network and the Council announced a partnership to provide funding to support Maryland-based child care providers in obtaining the CDA. Similar programs exist other states.
As we approach 1 million CDAs across the globe, I encourage others to consider the value and stability these educators bring to our lives and how we can best support their commitment to our children.
We have all been victims or participants of gossip at work, and sadly, this is no different in an early childhood education setting. Maybe it’s something you overheard in the hallway about a co-worker’s romantic...
s care providers, it often becomes natural to neglect our own needs. We use up all our time making sure the children in our care are happy and cared for, often at the expense of...
I often tell the students in my capstone course, Student Teaching Practicum, how working with other teachers in the same child care room can feel like a marriage. In a good marriage, like any good...
We are pleased to announce the two winners of our 2016 Early Educators Leadership Conference (EELC) High School Leaders Scholarship. Our winners are Mary Matthews of Highland, Utah, and Tracy Westog of Woodstown, New Jersey....
The way early educators use technology today to help young children learn is a relatively new field of scientific research. There is a vast market for phones, tablets, and televisions, which are types of screens...
As early education professionals, we appreciate the value and necessity of lifelong learning. In order to maintain quality of practice, we absolutely need to stay on top of our game by attending early childhood conferences....
At the Council, we are proud of sharing CDA® success stories with you to show the importance of the work we do daily. Anthony McKinsey, Marisa Ray, and Devon Peone, from the Salish School of...
On May 4, our Renewal & Credentialing Team hosted its first Online Renewal Live Chat. In this live chat session, we answered questions from the audience about the new renewal procedures. My colleagues Raquel A....
The amount of websites devoted to the early education field is vast, but it is just a matter of finding the ones and using them as technology tools to enhance your child care program in...
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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