Early Education Credentials set Educators on Path to Keep Jobs

Jan. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- WHAT: Ideal Early Learning, LLC an education service company devoted to providing quality technical assistance and professional development opportunities for early childhood program administrators, child care providers, pre-k teachers, and school-age/after school care providers will graduate its class of early childhood educators with CDA Credentials on January 22nd in Marietta, GA.

In 2004, Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia General Assembly created Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (BFTS) to further streamline services to Georgia’s children from birth to age 5 and their families.
In July 2009, in an effort to improve the quality of ECE programs in Georgia, BFTS issued credential requirements for Family Child Care Providers, Directors and Lead Teachers/Caregivers, which must be met by December 1, 2012. The national Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, issued by the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, DC, is the minimum credential required by BFTS.
To earn the national CDA credential, one of the leading ECE credentials for child care providers in the nation, participants must participate in 120 hours of training, complete a Professional Resource File, be observed and assessed working in the classroom with children by a CDA advisor, and be assessed by a national CDA Representative by taking an oral and a written examination.

WHO:  Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis and her team at Ideal Early Learning, LLC (Ideal ECE), have been charged with leading the way in Georgia for supporting ECE programs in meeting state mandates on professional development. Ideal ECE offers 120-hour CDA training courses, called “The Ideal CDA Course” and currently has classes going on with a new class scheduled to begin on January 20 in Atlanta and February 28 in Augusta. Dr. Bisa and her staff have been offering quality early care and education training for teachers and administrators for well over a decade. Completers of "The Ideal CDA Course" are not only graduates earning national credentials, but have jobs secured. Teachers who do not obtain these credentials prior to December 2012 could face unemployment.

WHEN: Saturday, January 22 @10am - Noon

WHERE: Zion Baptist Academy @ 165 Lemon Street, Marietta, GA 30360

BACKGROUND: Only five years ago, Georgia ranked 49th amongst public school graduation rates and has ranked among the lowest-performing states for over the last decade in education.

While current reports show that Georgia’s high school graduation rankings have slightly improved to 47th in public high school graduation, data also indicates that teen high school dropout rates increased 10% ranking Georgia as the highest in high school dropouts for states of its size (KIDS COUNT Data Center, 2009).

To help policymakers and educators achieve the goal of 55% by 2025 (percentage of 25-34 year-olds holding an associate degree or higher by 2025), the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center has developed the College Completion Agenda. The Agenda’s 10 key recommendations for strengthening the education pipeline in America begin with Early Childhood and concludes with Adult Education which ranks number three (3) for Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education top 10 issues to watch in 2011.

NOTES: Media interested in education, education policies and early childhood are invited to attend the event which includes light refreshments and a graduation ceremony.  Photo opps are available with Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis and the graduating class along with their families.

CONTACT: Media RSVP’s should be sent to Tamika Morrison at TWS Marketing Communications by Noon on Friday, January 21st.

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