533 Teachers Become Board-Certified; 3,384 Renew; More Than 20,000 in Process
ARLINGTON, Va. — December 12, 2016 — The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards celebrates 533 new and 3,384 renewed National Board Certified Teachers along with the tens of thousands of teachers currently pursuing Board certification – seen as the profession’s mark of accomplished practice. Occurring during the week of December 12-16, #TeamNBCT week recognizes and celebrates all National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) and candidates. On Wednesday, December 14, the week will be anchored by the re-release of the National Board’s foundational book, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do, which explicates the National Board’s Five Core Propositions for accomplished teaching.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our class of new and renewed NBCTs and of all Board-certified teachers. These teachers have proven that they teach to the highest standards – and research makes clear that their students are the ones who benefit. At the National Board, we’ve worked to engage more teachers in the process, which has been revised to be more flexible and affordable, while the standards remain unchanged. In response to these revisions, and with the support of states and districts across the U.S., we’ve seen significant interest in pursuing Board certification, exhibited by the 20,000 candidates in progress. The future becomes brighter as we all work towards an accomplished teacher for every student across the country,” said Peggy Brookins, NBCT, President and CEO of the National Board.
Newly Board-certified teacher and #EduColor founder Jose Vilson recently said, "I pursued National Board Certification because I believed that through the process, I would become a better practitioner. The National Board process gives us language to discuss the way we do our work holistically. It gives us community across the nation with other folks who want to be reflective workers for and with children."
In growing numbers across the country, NBCT leaders are advocating for new ways to bring accomplished teaching – and by extension, improved student learning – to scale using National Board Certification as a foundation for job-embedded, relevant and engaging professional learning. One of the most common models taking shape includes teams of teachers, with support from their schools and districts, using components of the revised certification assessment to examine and strengthen their teaching practice. Teachers and administrators alike report positive change in school culture and teacher practice. These collaborative efforts also strengthen the teaching continuum while growing the numbers of accomplished teachers. This work is critical to the long-term success of our schools and to sustaining and elevating the teaching profession.
With collaboration and commitment from the union, school district, and higher education institutions, Clark County, Nevada has one of the fastest growing National Board programs in the country. In speaking about Clark County’s vision, Tonia Holmes-Sutton, NBCT, Site Director for the Network to Transform Teaching, shared, “The leadership of practicing expert teachers must be infused in the continuum that develops new teachers. This will assure younger teachers learn from seasoned experts on their journey to accomplished practice. This continuum matches how doctors and other professionals develop accomplished practitioners. As it becomes an expectation, our goal in Clark County, Nevada, is that teachers’ practice will improve along with student performance, and teaching as a career will be even more valued by those inside and outside the field.”
Reflecting on the organization’s recent developments, Brookins added, “We’re excited by the progress we’re seeing to bring Board certification to scale and that our new process is making it possible for more teachers to pursue the professional standards that undergird certification. With innovative approaches to this work in many districts and states, high-value resources like our ATLAS video case library, and more than 112,000 committed, Board-certified teachers helping to embed this important work, we’re moving towards the day that every student in every zip code will be taught by an accomplished teacher. Indeed, that will be a good day for our students, our schools and our communities.”