Child Development Certificate

CONTACT

Tricia Kiefer, 413.552.2450, tkiefer@hcc.edu

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This certificate offers early educators working with children ages birth to 5 years old the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the early childhood education field through coursework preparation for the CDA credential. The CDA credentialing program assesses candidates using multiple sources of evidence, including an exam, observation, and professional portfolio with resources and competency statements prepared by the candidate.

This certificate provides the necessary course work leading to the CDA (Child Development Associate) credential by the National Council for Professional Recognition and teacher certification by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (DEEC). Participants will need to comply with work experience and/or exam requirements before actual CDA or DEEC certification is granted.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

plan a safe and healthy learning environment
advance children’s physical and intellectual development
support children’s social and emotional development
build productive relationships with families
manage an effective program operation
maintain a commitment to professionalism
observe and record children’s behavior
understand principles of child development and learning

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: 18 CREDITS

Semester One: 9 Credits
EDU 101 - Introduction to Early Childhood Credit(s): 3
EDU 104(B) - Child Growth and Development Credit(s): 3
EDU 108 - CDA I Credit(s): 3
Semester Two: 9 Credits
EDU 109 - CDA II Credit(s): 3
EDU 120 - Guiding Children’s Behavior Credit(s): 3
EDU 203 - Health, Safety, and Nutrition for Young Children Credit(s): 3

TOTAL: 18 CREDITS

NOTES

Students must complete 480 hours of work experience working with children in an approved age group.

Students must achieve a minimum grade of “C” in all EDU prefix courses in order to graduate from this program.

****Criminal Offense Record Act (CORI), and Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI)****

Students will be subject to a CORI/SORI check and review pursuant to the Criminal Record Information Act, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 6, Section 172-178, and Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 18a, Section 1, et seq., and regulations promulgated pursuant to such statutes. Applicants with a court record/past conviction may be unable to participate in student teaching. If a student is ineligible to work in the field due to a criminal record, the student will not be able to obtain this certificate. The College policy can be found in the Student Handbook.

Depending on course selection, 80% of this program can be completed online. Go to Online Learning for more information.

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