Dr. Calvin Moore was recently named Interim CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition. He joins the show to talk about what first attending the Head Start Program as a student meant to him as he moved up the ranks into executive positions. He and Kris also discuss why obtaining a CDA (Child Development Associate) certification is so important, and how we attract and retain a more diverse workforce.
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Here Are the Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Dr. Calvin Moore was recently named interim CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition. He’s also the first CEO of the Council to hold its early education credential, the CDA. Previously, he was the regional program manager for the Office of Head Start in Atlanta within the Administration for Children and Families for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Calvin started his journey with Head Start as a child in 1969 and began working for the program in 1991. He worked his way up as a teacher, center manager, coordinator, and eventually Executive Director.
- Calvin and his wife love living in Alabama, and they have a very busy household with both a 19- and 10-year-old.
- It is the 45th Anniversary of the CDA credential. While they were affected by the pandemic, they are rebuilding and seeing a strong interest from teachers for community and keeping their skills sharp. They also have seen double the numbers of CDA renewals and an extremely large turnout at their Leadership and Learning Series.
- Calvin believes in equitable systems in the way that every community should get access to a Head Start program, no matter what socioeconomic bracket they fall in.
- Consistency is a big part of Head Start, and consistent messaging is something we need more than ever.
- Calvin’s book, Men Do Stay, discusses myths of male teachers in the early childhood field and ways that we can do a better job of retaining our talented future male leaders and life changers. He gives his own example of how male leadership at a school helped other male teachers feel more welcome, and why continued professional development is so important.
- Look back at your program and see if you market in a way that supports diversity. We can do better than the 2–3% statistic of males in ECE now.
- Calvin did four years in the Air Force, which gives him a different perspective than most.
- There are so many benefits to getting a CDA, a few of the key ones being a place for new professionals to feel oriented and welcomed in the industry.
Loved the Rockstar episode with Dr. Calvin Moore.