It Takes a Village…
How the CUNY SPS Child Development Associate Program Helps Parents and Teachers
April 6–12 is the Week of the Young Child, an annual event celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, and families. In honor of this week, CUNY SPS is shining a spotlight on our Child Development Associate (CDA) Certificate program.
Offered in partnership with the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI), this program is the only comprehensive credit-bearing Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate in New York City.
The program provides students not only with the required coursework but also advisement, writing support, portfolio creation, career services, and classroom observation in pursuit of the Child Development Associate Credential. More than 250 students have graduated from the CUNY SPS CDA certificate program since its inception in 2012.
Here’s a closer look below at the program and how it has helped parents and teachers gain the skills to help nurture our future generations.
For the past eight years, CDA has joined forces with two different partners to offer parents with children in Head Start programs an opportunity to gain this certificate.
In 2016, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the super funder of the Head Start grant for New York City, included in their grant funding opportunities a multi-generational approach to supporting and provide education for the whole family.
ACS identified that Head Start family members, specifically parent/family volunteers, could be a space to recruit the future teachers of Head Start. ACS partnered with New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI) and CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) to support the Head Start families in attaining their credit bearing Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate.
The first cohort began in 2016 and, under ACS, nearly 60 individuals received their CDA certificate from CUNY SPS. This was initially offered to parent volunteers and later opened to all family members. In 2019 the superfunding transitioned to the NYC Department of Education (DOE). NYC public schools created a robust definition for Head Start family members, which includes aunts, uncles, older siblings, and grandparents in the new cohorts.
Family members learn about these opportunities through their parent events, parent representatives at their Head Start site, and program directors.
This is how Sasha Maria DiBeneditto began the CDA program. She is one of 14 students in the current Head Start Family cohort. Her four-year-old daughter attends The Bloomingdale Family Program in upper Manhattan and was told about the CDA program for Head Start families by a staff member.
“I’m in love with the program,” DiBeneditto enthused. She reflects further on her experience attending weekly sessions at the CUNY SPS campus. “I’m really enjoying it. I gobble up every piece of information I learn. I love that the professors are so relatable and kind.”
Dr. E.J. Jun, director of Higher Education Initiatives, New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, who also oversees the CDA certificate, said the program also includes a 480-hour requirement at a preschool, which participants can complete at the Head Start program where their children attend. The program had nine graduates last year. She added that once these students have their CDA certificate, it’s a great way to continue into an associate or bachelor’s degree program.
“New York City public schools offering the credit-bearing CDA demonstrates a respect for the multigenerational programming intended to lift up families in Head Start programs,” said Dr. Claudine Campanelli, senior director of career services and higher education at PDI. “The opportunity to attain a national teaching credential empowers families to move to employment with knowledge, competency and the disposition of a high-quality teacher in their community.” (In May, Dr. Campanelli was awarded the inaugural John Mogulescu Innovation Prize at CUNY SPS for her idea to create a credit-bearing CDA program in Spanish).
“I’m in love with the [CUNY SPS Child Development Associate] program,” DiBeneditto enthused. “I’m really enjoying it. I gobble up every piece of information I learn. I love that the professors are so relatable and kind.”
For more information, watch this video about the parent experience in the CDA program.
