News Room

ARLINGTON, Va. – September 26, 2019. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards unveiled today a program that recognizes school districts across the country that work hard to promote student learning through accomplished teaching. The National Board Accomplished Districts program will initially honor 81 districts in which at least 20% of its teachers have achieved National Board certification,* encouraging teachers to be their best and effectively driving student learning. The 81 Accomplished Districts come from ten states including Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Washington. The top three districts by percent of NBCTs are…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is proud to announce that two National Board Certified Teachers selected have been named as the inaugural California Advocacy Program fellows. The two advocacy fellows were selected from a highly competitive group of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) from across the state.  Lori Celiz, an NBCT at Ansel Adams Elementary School in the Lodi Unified School District Bootsie Battle-Holt, an NBCT at the Marina Del Rey Middle School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. “Bootsie and Lori are already helping to drive student learning in their classroom and district roles. As National…

World-renowned Educator (member of NBPTS Board of Directors), Astronaut, and Engineer Dr. Mae C. Jemison has encouraged us all to take a moment from the chaos of our everyday lives to pause and look up at the sky above. By doing so we remind ourselves, and each other, that we are all connected as members of the human race living together as one on this fragile, yet beautiful rock we call Earth. Dr. Jemison invites us all to participate in a monumental digital event entitled “Look Up Apollo: Footprints on the Moon, Pathways on Earth” occurring this summer from July…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is proud to announce our 2019 class of National Board fellows. The five fellows were selected from a highly competitive group of hundreds of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) from across the country: Tammy Kirkland of Mississippi, Matthew Poth of Virginia, Dr. Ann Nkiruka Ifekwunigwe, also of Virginia, L. Juliana Urtubey of Nevada and Ben Lathrop of Minnesota. “These five National Board Certified Teachers are already helping to drive student learning in their classroom and district roles. As National Board fellows, they will expand their reach beyond their local communities to help grow…

Starting in the 2020-21 cycle, the National Board will provide a new pathway for National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) to keep their certification active. Maintenance of Certification (MOC), is being designed based on best practices and teacher feedback to ensure Board-certified teachers continue to grow professionally while maintaining a strong impact on student learning. MOC will replace the Certification Renewal process. As in other professions, Maintenance of Certification will allow National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) to demonstrate to colleagues, the public, students and themselves that they continue to meet high standards of accomplished practice throughout their careers. The goal of…

A new study investigating the impact of professional development workshops focused on equipping cooperating teachers to support teacher candidates on the edTPA finds that National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) were the most effective at providing feedback to teacher candidates preparing for the edTPA. Published in the Journal of Teacher Education, the report entitled “Investigating the impact of edTPA professional development on classroom practice and student teaching experience” found that National Board Certified Teachers who were cooperating teachers “were able to give substantive feedback to their candidates, and their responses to the interview questions indicated a deep understanding of the demands…

It is with great sadness we announce that Peggy A. Swoger, NBCT passed away on Sunday, April 14 in Alabama. She was 82. Peggy was a member of the initial Board for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and positively impacted the lives of many educators. Peggy was an accomplished English teacher, fierce advocate for Board certification, and founding Director of Mississippi State University’s Word Class Teaching Program, and was instrumental in the formation of WCTPs across Mississippi. Peggy will be missed. We are so thankful for the many lives she touched as an educator.

The five National Board Fellows visited our Arlington offices in mid-February to wrap up their Fellowship and to share highlights of their “passion projects.” Pictured above, from left to right: National Board Fellows Amy Steger, Rodrigo Rodriguez-Tovar, Jaime Festa-Daigle, Melissa Collins, and Melissa Chandler. Amy Steger, NBCT from Eden, NY focused her work on two main areas. Primarily, she helped pre-service teachers become more aware of National Board certification. Collaborating with teachers from across the country,  Amy connected with local universities and schools of education, built material and sought to assure that future educators had early…

Minnesota Governor-Elect Tim Walz names NBPTS Board Member Mary Cathryn Ricker, NBCT as the incoming Commissioner of Education for the state of Minnesota. Congratulations to Mary Cathryn, we look forward to working with her to increase the number of accomplished teachers in Minnesota.