Partnering for Our Professionals in ECEHow can we empower, engage and encourage our early childhood teachers to improve their classroom practice? By tapping into some basic techniques of adult learning to help them develop as professionals in ECE. We should allow them to self-direct their training by making choices about the pace, place and mode of learning. We should use real-life examples in coursework that teachers can connect to their past experiences in the classroom. We should make it clear how the course content will help them achieve their professional goals. We should engage in frequent check-ins throughout the course of programs to determine whether teachers are finding value along the way. We should make sure that the course content is relevant to the work they’re doing right now. And we should present the content in ways that foster critical thinking and problem solving, so we inspire the teachers to become innovators and leaders.
These are all principles that guide the Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™. CDA® programs combine experience with formal coursework, research-based guidance with self-reflection to help early childhood teachers reach their potential. CDA holders, in turn, have the knowledge and know-how to produce the best possible outcomes for young children. And qualified teachers, like those who hold a CDA, play a crucial role in current plans to expand public preschool to every child in cities and states nationwide. In the push to provide quality pre-K to all, we must remember the teachers. So, policy makers and child advocates, along with high school and college administrators, have partnered to give our educators the professional development they need.
In Pennsylvania, for example, the Community College of Beaver County is among several education partners teaming up with the Early Education Professional Development Organization at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to help educators grow their skills. The partnership allows Pennsylvania educators who work at least 25 hours a week in a licensed child care setting to advance their careers through professional development and education. Thanks to funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, educators throughout Beaver County can now earn a CDA at no cost. The funding also supports CDA programs at high schools and allows high schoolers to earn 28 credits toward an associate degree in early education while still working toward a high school diploma.
The grant came shortly after Pennsylvania lawmakers increased the state budget by $79 million to allow 2,300 more children to access pre-K in the 2023 to 2024 school year. The budget hike is a step in Governor Tom Wolf’s long-term plan to provide pre-K for all the state’s children and the Beaver County grant plays a key role in the plan’s ultimate success. “Receiving this grant and offering high-quality training programs to early childhood educators is an investment in our community now and in the future,” said Dr. Katie Thomas, Dean of the School of Business, Arts, Sciences and Technology at the Community College of Beaver County. “We are strengthening and building the pipeline of teachers and ensuring that high-quality early learning programs are available to set our children up for success.”
This is also the inspiration that drives Maryland’s ongoing support for the CDA as it pursues its blueprint for the future, a ten-year plan to provide pre-K for every Maryland child. As part of the plan, the Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland Family Network and Council for Professional Recognition have partnered to provide Maryland’s early childhood teachers with financial aid to help them earn or renew a CDA. The funding covers application and other fees, along with books required for the program. And over 13,000 Maryland educators have already taken advantage of the chance to advance their professional growth by earning CDAs.
They live and work in counties across the state, which have now joined to build the highly qualified early childhood workforce that Maryland needs. In Baltimore County, for example, new partnerships and new cohorts are forming in local universities and colleges to deepen the pool of educators who hold a CDA. In Cecil County, the public school system is working with the Cecil School of Technology’s Teacher Academy of Maryland to begin enrolling teachers in CDA® programs as quickly as they can. Washington County Public Schools are partnering with the Teacher Academy of Maryland to give high school CDA students the firsthand experience that makes learning relevant and engaging. Frederick County offers a CDA program in two of its public high schools and is hoping to expand the program to all the county’s 10 public high schools in future years. And the goal of these efforts is to build a pipeline of early childhood teachers who can work in Maryland public schools after earning their CDA.
These efforts will turn the blueprint from a dream to a reality that opens opportunities for Maryland children, along with teachers who can build careers by earning a CDA. CDA holders will also have more opportunities nationwide, thanks to a partnership between the Council and National Workforce Registry Alliance, which reaches more than 1.8 million providers in 44 states. This agreement with the alliance creates a one-stop place for CDA students and credential holders to document and verify their training. And I’m confident this partnership advances our goal to create a CDA assessment system that’s more efficient for all stakeholders of the Council. It also gives us more convenient ways to share details about available CDA support and services, including CDA scholarships and other ongoing training opportunities our early childhood teachers need.
All this will result in a deeper sense of belonging and recognition for our professional educators, the Council’s enduring goal. And I’ll be working to give them even more support at the next Early Educators Leadership Conference, yet another great venue for teachers to develop their skills. While there, I’ll be looking for new ways to lift our educators up by meeting with a group of administrators from the Child Care Development Fund, a state and federal partnership that invests billions each year in building teacher qualifications and competence with young learners. We’ll be coming together as thought partners to explore some of the pain points that prevent people from earning their CDA. My plan is for us to work together on ways to give children the qualified teachers they need by making it simpler for more people to earn their CDA.
If we build the right pathways for teachers, they will come and allow our country to reach the dream of equity in early learning for all young children. So, we need to level the playing field for our teachers by giving them more opportunities to develop as professionals in ECE. When educators advance their skills and succeed in their careers, they become better at giving young children the skills they, too, need to succeed. Learning that empowers, engages and encourages our teachers shows them how to empower, engage and encourage young learners—something that school districts and states, community colleges and the Council have acknowledged by working together on our teachers’ behalf. Our children deserve qualified teachers, so we all need to partner to give our early childhood teachers the professional development they deserve.
Let’s serve our children by serving our teachers. Let’s partner to help them earn the CDA.
SPONSORED BLOG As 2024 winds down and we approach a new year, it’s natural to start thinking about goals and resolutions. For early childhood educators, one of the best resolutions you can make is to...
The Council for Professional Recognition is excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) on November 17- 23, 2024! Commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, the 2024 NAW theme, 10 Years...
The Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™, under the stewardship of the Council for Professional Recognition, has long been a cornerstone of the early childhood education sector. The Council is deeply committed to elevating the CDA®...
Introduction The Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™, awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition, is a foundational credential for early childhood educators across the United States. While the CDA® has long been recognized as a...
SPONSORED BLOG If you’re looking to boost your career and make a bigger impact in the lives of the little ones you teach, earning your Child Development Associate®(CDA) credential is a fantastic step forward. And...
As professionals dedicated to the advancement of early childhood education, we understand the critical role that a highly skilled and well-trained workforce plays in the development and success of young children. At the Council for...
The Council for Professional Recognition has long been a leader in quality in early childhood education, ensuring that educators meet the highest standards of competence and professionalism through the Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential. As...
The Council wants to give our early childhood teachers a chance to tell their stories. So does Usma Mohamed, the Council’s VP of Brand Experience and Marketing, and she conveys what they have to say...
SPONSORED BLOG As summer winds down and back-to-school season approaches, preschool teachers everywhere are gearing up for another exciting year of guiding littler learners! Amid the hustle and bustle of adorning bulletin boards with colorful...
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.
Read our monthly e-newsletter and keep up to date on all Council programs and services, as well as the latest news in the world of early care and education. Subscribe today to stay connected with us. You’ll receive timely information on events, webinars, special promotions, and more.
