Karen Vogelsang has taught in an elementary setting for 14 years. She currently teaches 3rd grade at Winridge Elementary School and serves her district superintendent as a Teacher Ambassador in a hybrid role. She is National Board Certified in Early Childhood, and has served as a mentor for candidates pursuing certification. Karen was recognized as the 2015 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. Karen serves as a member of the Shelby County Schools Teacher Advisory Council, Governor Haslam's Teachers Cabinet, and the NCTQ and Gates Teacher Advisory Boards. For the past two years she's been a Hope Street Group State Teacher Fellow and now serves as a Teacher Fellow Facilitator. She has served as a Learning Coach, a Common Core Math coach for her district and state, as well as on the state Math Textbook Adoption Team. Karen holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Memphis.
National Board Renewal: An Exercise of Intense Reflection
August 1, 2017
Ten years ago, I became a National Board Certified Teacher, and to this day it remains the most powerful, life-changing professional development experience of my career. The original certification process was grueling. I had only been teaching four years when I decided to pursue certification, so I was still young in the field, but not a young professional, per se: I had spent the previous 14 years in banking. Serving students in urban Memphis gave me a burning desire to be the best teacher I could be and National Board Certification seemed to be the way to achieve that goal.…
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