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Did you know your classes at Theoria count towards CDA's National Credentialing program for Early Childhood Professionals?
A training partnership was awarded to Theoria Technical College following a quality review of their training and student services by the Council for Professional Recognition (the Council). The partnership is part of the Council’s early childhood education effort to help CDA course students find the high-quality training and student services they need in preparation for the CDA exam and a career as early childhood educators.
In partnership CDA, Theoria Technical College successfully demonstrated that its early childhood education courses are based on the Council’s three industry-leading principles:
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Alignment with the CDA formal early childhood education coursework found in the CDA’s Eight Subject Areas.
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Sound business policies and practices.
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Quality student services that meet their educational and professional needs.
Students completing ECE/CDA courses with Theoria Technical College can apply to use those courses to qualify for the CDA’s National Credential recognized nation-wide.
What is a CDA Credential?
In childcare, CDA stands for Child Development Associate. The Child Development Associate Credential is the most widely known and valued credential in early childhood education. It is an opportunity for educators working with children from birth to age 5 to demonstrate and strengthen their knowledge, understanding, and practices when teaching in early education. Not only is the CDA Credential a key part of advancing within early childhood education, but it is also a major professional development learning experience and essential resource moving into the field.
The Child Development Associate Credential is based on a core set of standards set to evaluate and prepare early childhood educators as they work to enter the professional world. Not only is it valuable for professional development, but it can also be a key piece of becoming a qualified, exceptional teacher to young children.
Those who earn their Child Development Associate Credential have mastered the CDA standards and have a deep understanding of why these learned practices will help children move more successfully and smoothly from one developmental stage to the next.
Child Development Associates have a grasp on each aspect of a child’s development, including emotional, social, physical, and intellectual, and strive to help them grow through the stages of development more effortlessly.
While earning a CDA Credential isn’t always easy, it is overwhelmingly rewarding to personally evolve and professionally prepare to be the best early childhood educator possible.
How to obtain your CDA Credential to receive your Associate Teacher Permit through Theoria Technical College
There are two options for qualifying for the Child Development Associate Teacher Permit through the CTC. Of those two options, Theoria Technical College’s programs are optimized to guide students towards fulfilling the second option, which is possessing a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential.
There are six steps to receiving the CDA Credential through Theoria, a proud partner of the CDA, provides everything it can to help students through the process.
Step 1
Theoria Technical College’s curriculum fulfills the first step of having 120 hours of education in the eight CDA subject areas. The subject areas are as follows:
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Planning a safe and healthy learning environment
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Advancing children's physical and intellectual development
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Supporting children's social and emotional development
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Building productive relationships with families
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Managing an effective program operation
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Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
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Observing and recording children's behavior
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Understanding the principles of child development and learning
The following Theoria Technical College courses will fulfill this:
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ECE/CDA-100 Child Growth and Development
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ECE/CDA-200 Child, Family & Community
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ECE/CDA-300 Program Curriculum Theories, Methods, & Materials
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ECE/CDA-310 S.T.E.M. for Preschool
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ECE/CDA-400 Infant Toddler Development & Care
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ECE/CDA-500 Early Childhood Program Administration & Management
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ECE/CDA-510 Adult Supervision & Leadership
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ECE/CDA-600 Preventive Health, Safety, & Nutrition with Pediatric First-Aid & CPR
Step 2
Furthermore, the practicum requirements of each ECE class contribute to the fulfillment of the second requirement, which is having 480 hours of experience working professionally. However, the practicum required for Theoria’s courses alone may not necessarily fulfill the entire 480 hours, so the candidate must be sure to have the entire 480 hours of experience completed within 3 years after applying for CDA.
Step 3
The candidate will compile a Professional Portfolio which includes verification of education (your Theoria Transcripts), family questionnaires, and CDA® Assessor recommendation.
Step 4
Once the candidate has finished the 480 hours of experience and compiled their Professional Portfolios, the candidate can look to Theoria’s faculty to find a Home Visit CDA Professional Development Specialist (CDAPDS) for the CDA Verification Visit. The candidate will then send to the Council an enrollment application for the CDA program and pay the CDA application fee. Once this is completed and the application and fee have been processed, the candidate will receive approval that the application is complete, and the fee has been processed.
Step 5
The Verification Visit will be conducted by the candidate’s chosen CDAPDS. The candidate will also take a CDA Exam at a local PearsonVUE testing center.
Step 6
After the candidate has completed the CDA Verification Visit, the CDAPDS will submit the Verification Visit scores to the Council. Once the CDA Exam is completed, Pearson VUE sends the scores to the Council. Once the Council has received the scores from both, the Council will make the final decision on whether or not to award the CDA Credential.
For more information, please contact our Student Services Department at (760) 487-8436.
“We believe that our CDA partnership adds value and integrity to the early childhood profession by verifying connections between the Council’s proven teacher competencies and the quality of training resources available to both the students at Theoria and CDA students,” said