Success Stories

Read the following vignettes to learn how organziations have made a difference to candidates, schools and and students through generous donations in support of the National Board Scholarship Program.

• Advancing the Quality of Math Instruction
• Becoming Hooked on Teaching
• Improving What Teachers Do and Love
• Serving as a Catalyst in the Atlanta Public Schools
• Leveraging Federal Funding to Support Candidates
• Helping NBCTs Reach Out to Teachers Across the Country
• Rebuilding the National Board Certification Program in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
• Helping Teachers Professionally, and Students in the Classroom

Oracle

Edison International

Since sixth grade, Tobias Jacoby has loved science. As he got older, he found an interest in public service and wanting to give back to the community. “I became hooked on teaching,” said 27-year old Harvard graduate Jacoby who teaches chemistry and physics at Blair Magnet School in Pasadena, California. “Having the [Edison International] scholarship made the decision to go through [National Board Certification] that much easier. I am very grateful to Edison and its support for accomplished teaching.”

Pittsburgh Initiative

A coalition of Pittsburgh-based organizations has joined forces to increase the supply of NBCTs in hard-to-staff and high-needs schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools. The collaborative effort between by The Grable Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers currently boasts 50 NBCTs who are working to improve student learning.

“National Board Certification is a program for teachers who truly want to professionalize and improve their practice,” said Rosalie Dibert, coordinator of the Pittsburgh Initiative and a former member of the NBPTS Board of Directors. “This is not about grabbing the golden ring. This is about teachers getting better at what they do and what they love.”

Georgia-Pacific

Georgia-Pacific scholarships are helping teachers in the Atlanta Public Schools pursue National Board Certification. Through scholarship support, Georgia-Pacific is serving as a catalyst in helping the Atlanta Public Schools build the infrastructure for a high-quality National Board Certification program.

GlaxoSmithKline

Through a generous $1 million endowment, GlaxoSmithKline provides scholarships to science teachers nationwide pursuing National Board Certification. GlaxoSmithKline also supports science teachers in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Research Triangle Park, N.C. The GlaxoSmithKline Scholars Program leverages federal funding to support candidates for National Board Certification.

HP

HP’s support of the Direct Recruiting Efforts to Attract Minorities (DREAM) Team is helping 20 NBCTs reach out to teachers across the country. There have been over 1,100 participants in recruitment events and activities, yielding many potential candidates who otherwise would not have heard about National Board Certification.

Since the establishment of the DREAM Team Initiative, the first-time minority candidate count in Broward County has dramatically increased from 89 in 2004-05 to 232 in 2005-06. The highly successful minority outreach program is continuing in 2007 with an increased focus on outreach to principals to encourage more teachers to pursue National Board Certification.

2007 HP DREAM Team sites:
Phoenix
Salem, Ark.
Birmingham, Ala.
Broward County, Fla.
Tallahassee, Fla.
Baton Rouge, La.
Montgomery County, Md.
Detroit
Clark County, Nev.
Memphis, Tenn.
Seattle 

Pitney Bowes

The Pitney Bowes and Los Angeles Unified School District Partnership: Linking Literacy Skills and Learning through National Board Certification® helps ensure that more literacy teachers have access to NBPTS’ new professional development offering, Take One!®. After pursuing Take One!, literacy teachers will be encouraged to complete the certification process.

State Farm

State Farm’s longstanding partnership with NBPTS has supported hundreds of teachers pursuing National Board Certification. In addition, State Farm NBCT Liaisons are also working to bring the message of National Board Certification in the communities in which they teach to ensure that more of our nation’s students have access to a highly qualified teacher.

Ohio Liaison Carol Moyer began a minority recruitment initiative “Each One, Bring One” to encourage more teachers to pursue National Board Certification who may not have otherwise attempted the process. The model is now being used by other State Farm NBCT Liaisons across the country. 

Louisiana Liaison Lelia McCullum is taking the lead in rebuilding the National Board Certification program in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Ms. McCullum is working with her district to make sure each school has an NBCT as a lead staff member. As of early February 2006, there are 19 schools open with 13,000 students, and most of the approximately 70 NBCTs are already included in the 600 or so teachers teaching these students.

William Randolph Hearst Foundation

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is one of many donors providing support for teachers seeking National Board Certification. A recent National Board Scholarship Program recipient wrote:

“I teach in a small, rural community in Central Wisconsin. Budget cuts have made it difficult for us to purchase materials for our classrooms. Your support has helped me more than monetarily. You have helped me professionally and have helped my students become more understanding of people outside of our community.” Mary Joe Tomaras, Waupaca Wisconsin.