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The Early Childhood Education Profession: The Role of the Child Development Associate Credential

NNPA NEWSWIRE — CDA is the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education, and it is a key steppingstone on the path of career advancement in the sector.

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Brooks, Council for Professional Recognition

The recent Early Educators Leadership Conference (EELC) was an opportunity for early childhood educator leaders to network and learn from one another. The Council for Professional Recognition organized the conference and engaged several trailblazers in the field to discuss the importance of high-quality early childhood education and the impact of the Child Development Associate Credential (CDA). CDA is the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education, and it is a key steppingstone on the path of career advancement in the sector. The CDA is based on a core set of competency standards that guide early childhood professionals toward becoming qualified educators of young children. The Council works to ensure that the nationally transferable CDA is a credible and valid credential, recognized by the profession as a vital part of professional development.

Lauren Brooks with the Council interviewed Dr. Kim Krzanowski, executive director of the Early Childhood Innovation Center at Delaware State University. They discussed the impact of the CDA and the Council on early childhood educators and the communities they serve.

Lauren: Please tell us about your journey and current role in the field of early childhood education.

Dr. Kim Krzanowski: I’ve been in the field of early childhood for about 20 years. I started as an infant toddler teacher and went on to become a preschool teacher. I was a director for quite a few years and then I wanted to figure out how I could support the workforce in a different way. So, I landed in higher education.

Lauren: Why should people care about early childhood education?

Dr. Krzanowski: It’s the most fundamental priority in the world. Children are the most precious cargo that we have and to not prioritize their health, well-being, and education is insane to me. I’ve seen what happens when children receive a quality start in life. As a result, I’m a staunch advocate for this work. It should literally be on the top of everyone’s docket, and everyone’s priority. We cannot expect people to thrive and grow if they do not have a quality fundamental start. And that start is early childhood education.

Lauren: How does having a Child Development Associate credential allow early childhood educators to provide a quality start for young children?

Dr. Krzanowski: I’ve seen the difference the CDA makes in classrooms and with educators. When an educator walks in and says I have a CDA, suddenly their confidence shines and you also see their confidence in classrooms with children day in and day out. So, the importance of the CDA is that it is the signal that keeps shining to the rest of the world indicating that early childhood educators are here to stay, they are vital, they are important, and earning the credential is the best first step that they can take in their career trajectory.

Lauren: Who do you encourage to earn a CDA?

Dr. Krzanowski: If you have a passion for working with children, and you want to really set yourself up for success, then you should earn a CDA. CDA allows you to think about the competencies, practices, and best practices that you are learning while you’re completing your portfolio, getting ready for your observation, and preparing for the exam. It puts you in a place where you are ready to be the best educator that you can be. It is really the thing that catapults ECE educators to the next level in their careers.

Lauren: How can you tell that a CDA has made a difference in the way an educator teaches young children?

Dr. Krzanowski: When I walk into an early childhood program, the first thing that I do is listen. I listen to the voices of children and the voices of adults. I can tell pretty much instantaneously what kind of training and professional development credentials people have. It’s all about the demeanor, professionalism and the tone. When I hear educators engage with children at a child’s level and talk about investigating, exploring words, language, and science, that is not something that you just pull out of a hat. That’s something that you learn and through the process of obtaining your CDA, learning that is embedded into the program. So, when I walk through, you can pretty much pinpoint educators who have gone through the CDA program, some who have not, and some who are in the middle. You see differences in the way people talk, act, and their responses to situations in the classroom. They understand those competencies and their living and breathe them in the classroom.

Lauren: What’s exciting about ECE today?

Dr. Krzanowski: I think just about the fact that you have the potential to change someone’s life, not even potentially, you ARE changing someone’s life when you are in a classroom of children. Whether you work with infants, toddlers, or preschoolers, you can influence their trajectory. Providing children with a high-quality early education gives them the foundation to be successful as they grow and learn and move into kindergarten and beyond.

Lauren: Can you tell us more about your program? And how did you incorporate the CDA into your program?

KK: The Early Childhood Innovation Center was a dream that I had for a very long time. I knew that we had to do something big and bold. So, we knew that the CDA would play an important role in the development of this program, and it has. I’m excited to say that we opened our program in 2023 and last year, we celebrated over 200 CDAs at a recognition event. Those are numbers that Delaware has not seen ever. So, it’s very, very exciting. We have a saying that we use: “Insist on Success.” It doesn’t matter what’s going on in a person’s life, we want to make sure that they can walk across that stage and obtain that CDA.

Lauren: That’s a huge emphasis on the CDA! Why did you feel that the CDA was so important to weave into the program versus perhaps just aiming to get folks an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education?

Dr. Krzanowski: I believed it was important because it’s the national standard. A CDA is recognized not just in Delaware, but nationally. And I believe that the aspect of the CDA was important for our students, our scholars. They need to understand that this is not just a statewide certificate, this is a national credential. If they don’t pursue a degree, that’s okay. But if they do, going through our CDA program is going to give them the skills, the abilities, and the confidence to be successful.

Lauren: What do you think is the benefit of renewing the CDA, even if you’ve earned your bachelor’s or associate degree?

Dr. Krzanowski: Having your CDA shows a commitment to the field. Once you earn this credential, why would you give it up? You want to keep it current. Renewing your CDA is a commitment to the field and a commitment to excellence in early childhood education.

Lauren: The Council is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the CDA. How do you believe the CDA has benefited the ECE field over the last 50 years?

Dr. Krzanowski: The CDA uplifts ECE professionals. When someone says I am a CDA, they have a little pep in their step. They are proud to have earned a credential that is focused on teaching young children. When I looked around at the EELC conference and saw all the people gathered, it made me so happy to see like-minded professionals all focused on what’s best for children. At the end of the day, that must be our focus. We have a focus on children, a focus on the professionals who are educating the children, and the benefit is that it’s committed to this field.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

admin

Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,