Neurospicy: A Seasoning for the Soul
By Mechelle Gilford, Ed.S., NBCT https://www.nbpts.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Gilford-Neurospicy-Article-for-National-Board.mp3 Let’s face it: being a neurodivergent teacher in a neurotypical world sometimes feels like navigating a grocery store with a map to the moon—a bit of a wild goose chase, but hey, at least it’s an adventure! Think of neurodiversity as the secret ingredient that makes the…
Retaining Teachers Through Reimagined Career Pathways
By: Jessica Kato, NBCT Recently, I attended a conference session for mid to late-career educators, which I expected to be focused on strategies to support teacher retention, an issue I care deeply about. Instead, I was surprised to find myself actively participating in a passionate and emotional conversation about what it means to have an…
Being an NBCT comes with an obligation to equity
By: Megan Jenny, NBCT and Lauren Jewett, NBCT There have been more than a few documented instances of lawmakers excluding classroom teachers from discussions and deliberations—including the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001. And we all know how disastrously that turned out, ushering in an era of excessive standardized testing, commodification of education, and…
The Importance of Building Relationships…and Repairing Them
So this happened. Generally, I am relatively easy to get along with – people like me. Not so much last week when a confrontation with a student escalated to a point where I lost my cool. It happens – in the classroom, in my office, in any work environment, and in relationships. The problem in…
Teaching in the Pandemic is like Eating Noodles Without Chopsticks
By: Lory Walker Peroff, NBCT I recently attended a virtual professional development on a sunny Saturday morning. I was still hungover from a rough week at school. Despite a brief moment of elation when, for the first time in four months, I had all of my students in attendance, the week was overwhelming as usual.…
How Are You Advocating for School Librarians?
By: Jamie Gregory, NBCT According to SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution?, a new study conducted by Keith Curry Lance and Debra E. Kachel, our country has experienced a 20% decline in the number of school librarians employed in American school districts in just the last ten years (starting well before the COVID-19 pandemic).…
Tales from the Pandemic: Lessons learned as an administrator during COVID-19
Starting the School Year. As a school-based administrator entering my 3rd year in a building, I have experienced very little “normal.” I thought this year would be different. Er, rather, I hoped. Here we are on the Friday before teachers return. COVID-19 numbers are surging. Mask wars are on full-scale. Staff members are stressed already.…
Why administrators should consider National Board Certification
Is NBCT for me? Of course! In the year 2000 when I achieved National Board certification, nobody in my district had attempted nor had achieved certification. So I decided to take that plunge! I initially sought National Board certification because I wanted to continue to build my mastery of teaching and I thought going through…
