NaShonda Cooke is a 20 year veteran who works in Wake County, NC as a special education teacher and interventionist. As an 8th generational educator, she has received degrees in education from Edinboro University of PA and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Cooke served as NEA’s Vice Chair for the NBCT Caucus in 2011-13. She has been director of a mentoring program to address the needs of minority male students in elementary school called Men of Honor for eight years and currently SEEDS for middle school students. Her focus and passion continues to be serving her students, advocating for policies that adequately support education. She was spotlighted in planbook.com’s "16 Inspiring Teachers Who Left Their Marks on the 2016-17 School Year." Recently, she was featured as one of three cover subjects for TIME Magazine’s feature story on teaching in America. She is the mother of Na’Via, 9, and Victoria, 14.
From NBCT to TIME Magazine
November 6, 2018
I remember it like it was yesterday. Sitting in my principal’s office… typing in my information to log on… and when I did I saw the words, I honestly wasn’t expecting to see them: CONGRATULATIONS!!!! YOU ARE A NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHER! My heart stopped and all I remember is screaming at the top of my lungs and my principal rushing in to make sure everything was okay. It was the most amazing professional moment of my career. Me… an NBCT! Well, that was only the beginning. Since then I have served as a mentor and advocate for public education…
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