Ambereen Khan-Baker is a National Board Certified Teacher in AYA/ELA and has a Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education and Literature from American University and a Masters Degree in Writing from Johns Hopkins University. With ten years in the classroom, Ambereen currently teaches AP Language and Composition and yearbook at Rockville High School in Montgomery County, MD. She is a Coach Coordinator and Candidate Support Provider for National Board candidates in Montgomery County. Ambereen is also an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, where she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Last October, Ambereen spoke at the White House at the Worker’s Voice Summit and shared her classroom and leadership experiences. Follow Ambereen on Twitter @ambereenkb.
Why Educators Must Build a Safe Environment for Our Students
June 12, 2017
On September 11 of my senior year in high school, I was in my ceramics class working on a project when I heard that an airplane crashed into one of the twin towers in New York. When the class ended, I rushed over to Mr. Hunt’s classroom, where we usually met for our student government class. It was the one place I felt safe. There, my classmates and I watched the twin towers collapse, and we stared in terror and disbelief at the devastation and destruction. We had yet to graduate from high school, and we were deciding what to…
Read MoreMeaningful Parent Engagement
February 8, 2017
Recently re-released, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do articulates the National Board’s Five Core Propositions for teaching. Similar to medicine’s Hippocratic Oath, the Five Core Propositions are held in common by teachers of all grade levels and disciplines and underscore the accomplished teacher’s commitment to advancing student learning and achievement. This blog focuses on core proposition 5 that states, “Teachers are members of learning communities.” How can teachers and school leaders engage parents and families in meaningful ways, to ensure that we are meeting students’ needs? What kind of audience are we for the voices of parents…
Read MoreTeaching Students How to be Informed Members of Their Community
September 7, 2016
In a previous blog post, “Engaging students to create social change,” I shared how to prepare students to go beyond critical thinking and discussion, to take action to better their communities and the world. The post included some new learning from the Teaching & Learning Conference, and later in the year, I decided to implement some of that learning in my AP Language and Composition class. There are take-aways that might help others prepare for the year ahead. One of the central goals for that class is for students to grow as informed citizens of their community. They respond to…
Read MoreWhy Pronouncing Students’ Names is Important to Building Relationships
August 12, 2016
The beginning of the school year is a stressful period: teachers readjust to their school schedules, master new curricula, set up classrooms, learn new policies, and, finally, meet a new group of students. The last part is most important to me, because it connects to the first step of the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching (AAT). That step is "knowing your students." Who are your students? What are their needs? Knowing your students also means learning how to say their names. Pronouncing students’ names correctly conveys important messages: I care about you, I accept you, and you are important to me.…
Read MoreHow is candidate support connected to a teacher’s professional learning?
May 10, 2016
What value does candidate support provide to our students, candidates, candidate support providers, and National Board? How will candidate support improve the teaching profession? At our session at the March Teaching and Learning conference, titled Getting Board-certified – New resources for Candidate Support Providers, our panelists (listed at the end) discussed the structure and values of our candidate support systems. During our presentation, we discussed how our candidate support programs focus on preparing and building the capacity of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) to be school leaders and teacher leaders. We want teachers to learn skills that they can use…
Read MoreEngaging students to create social change
March 12, 2016
How do you prepare students to go beyond critical thinking and discussion, and to take action to better their communities and the world? How do we engage students to create social change? On March 10, I attended one of Teaching and Learning pre-conference sessions, Social Leadership: MALALA and How To Turn Your Students Into Activists at the Newseum. The topic spoke to me as a teacher of 11th graders in an AP Language and Composition course. My students have to demonstrate that they are “informed citizens” of their community. By understanding the craft of rhetoric, they are better consumers of…
Read MoreA Core Proposition for National Board Candidate Support Providers
September 14, 2015
Editor’s Note: Ambereen Khan-Baker, NBCT, teaches AP Language and Composition in Rockville, Md. As an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The views expressed in this blog are her own. If you want to support another teacher pursuing National Board Certification, what skills are essential to your effectiveness? This question was our focus this summer for the Candidate Support Provider (CSP) Foundations Committee at the National Board Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona, where…
Read MoreYearbook: A teacher’s reflection on a school year, well captured
July 29, 2015
Editor’s Note: Ambereen Khan-Baker, NBCT, teaches AP Language and Composition in Rockville, Md. As an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The views expressed in this blog are her own. A 220-page book. Five different sections: Student Life, People, Groups, Senior Tributes, and an index that lists the names of 1,600 individuals that make up our school. This is the yearbook. But it’s more than just a book: It’s a historical document…
Read MoreWhat calls you to teaching?
May 28, 2015
Editor’s Note: Ambereen Khan-Baker, NBCT, teaches AP Language and Composition in Rockville, Md. As an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The views expressed in this blog are her own. Why do you teach? That may be a relatively easy question to answer. But I didn’t truly understand my purpose and calling to teaching until this past year. That’s when I became an ambassador for Montgomery Institute, a partnership with the NEA…
Read MoreHow I taught my high school students to analyze a complex text
April 30, 2015
Editor’s Note: Ambereen Khan-Baker, NBCT, teaches AP Language and Composition in Rockville, Md. As an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The views expressed in this blog are her own. Have you ever had that feeling where you want to slam your head on the desk because your students just didn’t get it? I think every teacher has experienced that frustration at some point; students may see a concept, but not understand…
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