This blog originally published on the Public Advocates website.
By Public Advocates and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
We are delighted that the Governor’s 2021 Budget included a robust investment in the National Board Certification Incentive Grant. National Board certification is the most respected professional certification in education1 and confers innumerable benefits on teachers, students and school communities. These benefits include:
- Fee subsidy and salary incentives for National Board Certified Teachers
- Leadership opportunities for teachers, such as mentorship of less-experienced teachers
- An invaluable professional development experience that connects professional learning with classroom practice
- An opportunity to positively impact high-needs students, including at high-priority schools, which often grapple with significant teacher shortages.2
Registering to Pursue National Board Certification
The California National Board Certification Candidate Subsidy Application offers eligible teachers $2,500 to initiate the highly-regarded National Board certification process. The application is due on January 31, 2022 at 4 pm PST. To access the application, please click here.
Candidates pursuing National Board certification must complete four components over up to three years. The process is intended to be flexible, allowing you to balance the work with your other personal and professional obligations. Details about the process, the National Board Standards and more are available here.
The California National Board Certification Teacher Incentive Program offers National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) a $5,000 annual stipend for each year of their five-year commitment to teach in high-priority schools (i.e., schools at which more than 55% of the students are low-income, English learners, and/or foster youth). The full list of eligible high-priority schools may be found here. The application is due on February 28, 2022 at 4 pm PST. To access the application, please click here.
For more information about these exciting opportunities, please read this flyer.
For more information about National Board certification from the California Department of Education, please click here.
Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards – The founding mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by: maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards, and advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers. Recognized as the “gold standard” in teacher certification, the National Board believes higher standards for teachers means better learning for students.