What is a CDA?
The Child Development Associate (CDA) is a National credentialing program that focuses on the skills of early care and education professionals. It is designed to provide performance-based training, assessment, and credentialing of child care staff, and family child care providers. To date, there are more than 100,000 CDA's across the country-in all 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands. A CDA Credential is a highly recognized in early childhood education and is a wonderful learning experience for early childhood educators. In the state of Washington you can be a childcare center director or a program supervisor with your CDA Organizations like Head Start require that their lead teachers have a minimum of a CDA.Organizations that help support your professional development
- CDA Council Information
- National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC)
- Washington Association for the Education of Young Children(WAEYC)
- Washington STARS
Can I take my classes online?
The class is a Flex class which means that students may either take their courses online or meet on campus one night a week.How long does it take?
The CDA is offered over three quarters with an optional forth quarter available for students who would like to work further on their professional file and receive the Green River Community College CDA Academic Completion Certificate. The training covers specific areas relevant to Early Childhood education. The courses are designed to allow the student to enter the program during any quarter. During the course of study, we have designed a model that helps our students prepare for the national CDA Assessment. A student who attends the first three quarters here at Green River will develop their Professional Resource File as they go. If they choose to take the fourth quarter we assign them special topics to enhance their portfolio, act as the advisor for their formal observation when possible, and have them further demonstrate their professional development. Students who complete all four quarters will be eligible for the Green River Community College CDA Academic Completion Certificate. This twelve credit certificate will document over 150 clock hours of training. This exceeds the recommended number of training hours required by the CDA Council in order to submit for the CDA Assessment.
What classes do I need to complete my CDA requirements?
- ECE 120- CDA I : We address Child Development, Observation Skills, Health, Safety, Learning Environments
- ECE 190- CDA 2: Functional areas surrounding children's social and emotional development, working with families, and effective program management are the focus.
- ECE 200-CDA 3: We cover children's physical and intellectual development as well as a commitment to professionalism.
- ECE 260- CDA 4: This class is designed for those students who meet the requirements of the CDA Clock hours of training but would like to earn the Green River CDA Academic Preparation Certificate. It is also designed to assist students who may still need to develop a portfolio and gather the required resources, in order to submit to CDA for their exam. This last quarter of CDA will help guide students through the final process of submitting to the CDA Council for their final assessment exam.