蜜桃影视

When three in 10 candidates who sign up for your program don鈥檛 make it to the end, you know you have a problem.

鈥淲e had a huge attrition rate,鈥� acknowledges Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition, which awards Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. 鈥淚 really wanted to unpack why so many folks never complete the process.鈥�

As the nation wakes up to the importance of the workforce that educates young children and keeps them safe and protected, Moore and the Council have embarked on a sweeping of the credentialing process, making use of a design-thinking approach that prioritizes equity and access. Ultimately, the initiative could bring more talent into the field at a time when it is needed more than ever.

In the past 37 years, the Council has awarded nearly a million CDAs. Maintaining the standards of early educators and measuring their competencies help families and communities to feel confidence in the professionals trusted to facilitate the brain development of young children. These standards apply to preschool centers, family child care and home-visitors, so getting them right matters.

Upon joining the organization in May 2020 as Interim CEO, Moore realized, 鈥淭he status quo was not really efficient for candidates or for the council staff.鈥� The board supported his commitment to listen to stakeholders and to heed their voices.

Moore鈥檚 career began with the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity in Birmingham, Ala., where he worked as a teacher鈥檚 aide. As the organization鈥檚 first CEO who has a CDA certification, he has a unique perspective on the value of the credential as well as the potential to make it an even more powerful lever for the sector. 鈥淭he CDA process jump-started my own career and made me feel more deeply connected to it,鈥� he says.

Inspired by Daniel Coyle’s 2018 book , Moore dedicated himself to 鈥渦sing this period of transition as a way to crystallize our purpose.鈥� To begin, the Council commissioned 鈥� a New Jersey-based consulting firm that counts the federal Head Start program among its clients 鈥� to facilitate what Moore describes as 鈥渁n iterative process that allowed us to challenge our assumptions and define our program.鈥� This work entails surveys, focus groups and interviews to gather perspectives from those using the system.

In other words, it involves design thinking, as 鈥渁 human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer鈥檚 toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology and the requirements for business success.鈥�

鈥淩eimagining systems is essential for organizations that want to scale and grow,鈥� says BCT鈥檚 Lawrence M. Hibbert. And wholesale, holistic reimagining doesn鈥檛 happen in silos. Alongside the credentialing initiative, the Council is also collaborating with the at Arizona State University. Dr. Shantel Meek has been leading the effort, making sure that the latest and greatest information around equity is applied to Council publications as well as the national CDA standards. Reinforcing the Council鈥檚 partnership the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has been another priority. The Council also starts high schoolers on the path to early childhood education careers.

鈥淒esign thinking begins with empathy,鈥� Hibbert explains. 鈥淲ho is your user? What is it like to be in his or her shoes?鈥� Subsequent steps in the process are defining the users鈥� needs, ideating new and challenging concepts, prototyping solutions and testing them out.

Technology has been a recurring theme in the responses. 鈥淐andidates had a hard time getting answers to their questions and finding the resources they need,鈥� says Moore. 鈥淒epending on what part of the country they were in, some have had internet issues or lack of access to the internet.鈥� Many of the responses detail problems scheduling assessments in Pearson VUE Centers 鈥� a pain point that became even more painful during the pandemic. Possible solutions, says Moore, include an online-proctored exam, where someone can take the exam in their home, or at an office or at the library.

While technology is holding candidates back, it also holds powerful solutions. Local libraries were revealed to play a surprisingly major role. 鈥淓ven if there was a community where there may not have been a large number of high school graduates or college graduates,鈥� Moore reports, 鈥渋f that community had a lot of libraries and other kinds of resources for those CDA candidates to tap into, then they did better on the assessment than communities that were resource poor.鈥�

The CDA is changing to meet community and workforce needs, but access has always guided the Council鈥檚 work. 鈥淎t last count,鈥� Moore says, 鈥渨e have done assessments in 23 different languages. If it鈥檚 a bilingual program, they can be assessed in a bilingual way. If it鈥檚 a monolingual setting, we make sure that assessment is done in the language that is being spoken at the center.鈥�

Fresh dimensions to the credentialing process will start rolling out in 2023, but don鈥檛 expect a shiny new CDA assessment process to be unveiled like the latest model of an SUV. It鈥檚 an ongoing process, Hibbert stresses, constantly informed by practitioners.

Ultimately, it鈥檚 just like education in general. 鈥淭he more you learn,鈥� Moore says, 鈥渢he more you want to know.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.