Teachers measure up — again
All of the educators mentored through a program at Emporia State University in 2008-09 achieved the highest honor of the teaching profession, each for a second time.
The teachers were notified in late October the work they had done last spring had – once again – measured up. The teachers are:
- Barbara Fowler, Emporia Middle School, USD 253, social studies teacher, certificate area: social studies-history/early adolescence
- Nancy Harman, O'Loughlin Elementary School, Hays, USD 489, principal, certificate area: generalist/early childhood
- Sandra Peer, Wichita State University, mathematics instructor, certificate area: mathematics/adolescence through young adulthood
- Patricia Salvatore, Southwest Junior High School, Lawrence, USD 497, English/journalism teacher, certificate area: English language arts/early adolescence
- Kathy Wagoner, Hays High School, USD 489, English teacher, certificate area: English language arts/adolescence through young adulthood
Ten years ago, the five teachers from across the state went through the rigorous year-long process of becoming National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). A year ago, each of them had to decide if they wanted to go through the process again to renew their certificates, as the life of their original 10-year certificate was about to expire.
“By renewing your certification, you can demonstrate that your professional practice remains consistent with high and rigorous standards,” said Dr. Roger Caswell, director of ESU’s program which assists teachers who decide to work toward certification.
While the process is often misunderstood to mean that a teacher passed a test or was nominated for the award, Caswell explained National Board certification is a different kind of honor.
“While there are exercises teachers have to demonstrate knowledge about the content they teach, to earn certification – or renewal in this case – educators must also submit four portfolio entries,” Caswell said. “These entries include video recordings of classroom exercises, strongly focused on what student involvement and demonstrating they are learning from the material being presented.”
Once portfolio entries and assessment center exercises are completed, the work is scored by at least a dozen teachers who have successfully completed intensive training and have been qualified for scoring based on their understanding of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
The accomplishment benefits the teachers, the schools they work in, and studies have shown NBCTs improves student learning. And the program hosted at ESU, Great Plains Center for National Teacher Certification, benefits as it maintains a 100% renewal rate (since the beginning in 2004) with candidates achieving recertification on their first attempt. More information about ESU’s program can be found at www.emporia.edu/jones/nbpts/.
Kansas currently has a total of 301 national board certified teachers. Of those, 15 will have to be deciding soon if they want to go through the process again.
National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. A voluntary process established by NBPTS, certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers and school counselors should know and be able to do.
The program for providing professional support for the certification has been available at ESU since 1993. Nationwide, the total number of national board certified teachers is more than 73,000.
More information about NBCT renewal can be found at: http://www.nbpts.org/for_nbcts/certification_renewal
Last Updated November 3, 2009>