1. Teachers must successfully complete a one-time, three credit Child Development Associate (CDA) course through AACC.  

2. AACPS will pay registration fees.  Contact your CTE Academic Teacher Specialist regarding registration. 

3. You will be compensated the negotiated stipend rate based on the hours of the Professional Development.

Students must complete the following

1. • 1. Year 1 - Child Growth and Development (1 credit)

     2. Year 2 - Learning Environment for Preschoolers (1 credit)

     3. Year 3 - CDA Review and Portfolio (1 credit)

     4. To achieve completer status, students must complete an approved Early Childhood Internship - 480 hours  OR Dual Enrollment w/ AACC.

     5. If seeking certification, upon completion of the 480 hours, students will schedule a site visit with a CDA PD Specialist and schedule the CDA Exam. 

Note - Regarding the 480 Hours

• • • Upon successfully completing the MSDE Early Childhood - Child Development Associate (CDA) Completer sequence with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in the three CDA courses, students will earn 180 hours toward the 480-hour internship required by the Council for Professional Recognition from their experience in the high school preschool lab. The remaining 300 hours must be completed through an AACPS-approved internship at a licensed center for children aged 3 to 5 years.  If seeking their CDA, the CDA site visit must occur at the licensed center.

    • Note - the 3.0 is for CDA classes only.  This is an average over all three courses.  Students cannot earn partial credit of the 180 hours.  Internship facilitators are aware of this change for next year.

• We are currently trying to get the 90 Clock Hour back on the IRC list.  The statement below is with the 90 Clock Hour not being on the IRC list.  If it gets added back, this will change as there will most likely be an assessment component.

  1. • Students qualify for the 90 Clock Hour upon completion of the first two courses in the CTE CDA program pathway. This is reflected on the high school transcript with a grade of C or better in the following courses: Child Growth and Development and Learning Environment.  These courses are documented in the Child Care Automated Tracking System (CCATS) maintained by MSDE Division of Early Childhood. Students would take their transcript to the center where they are applying, staff at the center would have to request verification from their Licensing contact at MSDE to verify the student's completion of the 90-hour requirement.  AACPS will no longer be issuing hard copy certificate of the 90 Clock Hour Certification.