The CDA® credential has opened doors for over a million early childhood educators across all 50 states. But too often it is treated as a stopping point rather than a starting point.

In the first episode of Season 2, Dr. Calvin E. Moore Jr. sits down with Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis, Director of ECE Competence and Practice at the Council for Professional Recognition, to explore what the CDA really means as a career credential. They dig into why the early childhood field has historically centered degrees over competency, what it looks like when credentialing and career pathways work together, and why recognizing an educator's competence is one of the most powerful tools we have for keeping talented professionals in the field.

From high school CDA programs to credit for prior learning to the crosswalk between CDA standards and NAEYC professi ...