Washington state is awesome, awe inspiring. I have just left a facilitator training for NBCTs interested in facilitating candidates who are pursuing National Board certification. I left the training pumped, excited, invigorated! Washington is changing how education is viewed and this change is strengthening the learning of our students.
Whenever you get a large group of strong teachers in one room, you cannot help but smile and feel the energy. There is a sort of electricity in the air; you know that something special is going on.
I am traveling south from Renton on the Sounder, a commuter train, looking out the window, typing, reflecting on my day and trying to capture some of what made today so special. How will today connect to the learning of our students? This is the question I ask myself.
As I do this, I am taken by the diversity of the land in this state, even in this small portion on which I am traveling has me thinking. The industrial section of Tukwila; the farmland of Puyallup; and the urban setting of Tacoma. Each a different look, a different culture with its own needs, and its own students, but all connected by being a part of Washington.
This is what my day was like at the training. A diverse collection of teachers, from all over the state, connected by their ability to make an impact on student learning.
Seeing these teachers and their dedication creates hope for Washington’s schools. Hope for students. Hope for the future. Tomorrow, these teachers will go back to their unique areas of Washington and further the goals of great teaching by supporting their colleagues who are pursuing National Board.
Washington is unique in this. Washington has a strong support network for its teachers pursuing National Board certification. From Jump Start at the beginning, Home Stretch at the end, the variety of facilitation cohorts, scholarships, even this training that I am taking . . . the list goes on. This has garnered Washington a great deal of attention in the media for having the vision for great schools.
This support is often duplicated by other states, showing that Washington is a leader. You, too, can be a leader in supporting Washington’s students by supporting National Board certification. Support comes in all shapes and sizes, most of it simple. Everyone can support candidates in a variety of ways. I have listed three ways to prime your own clever ideas for support.
DISTRICTS
1) Free up some days so that your candidates can use that time to work on their board certification process. It is a time consuming process that candidates say takes between 250 – 400 hours outside of their workday, meetings, classes, and personal life. (Think of 400 hours as 10, 40-hour work weeks on top of the teaching work weeks.)
2) Make available any technology necessary for completing the board portfolio. For example, having access to a video camera and microphone could be that crucial piece for your candidate.
3) Connect your candidate with other teachers in the district who have gone through the board certification process or could be valuable resources.
SCHOOLS
1) Copies. Access to a photocopier without an amount limit. This is simple, but will make a difference. Your National Board candidate is require to make numerous copies, drafts, and forms.
2) Time to plan, organize, and write.
3) Use of equipment or resources at the school.
PARENTS/COMMUNITY
1) An honest thank you to the teacher for her effort to make your student’s learning better will go a long way in showing the teacher that she is supported and it is a community effort.
2) Asking the teacher if there is anything that he needs done that would free him up to work on his process. Say, copying and collating those packets for next week’s fraction exploration.
3) Each candidate needs to have his/her classroom video taped. You could be that person who does the taping.
If you are a candidate or NBCT, add a comment with what support worked for you and why.
After being in a room with great people and strong teachers all committed to student learning, I can see the fruits of the task force that recommended National Board Certification. National Board certification is working, and it has picked up momentum in Washington state. In 1983, a federal report entitled A Nation at Risk: The Imperative of Educational Reform discussed the concern over America’s increasingly mediocre schools. As a solution to this, the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy established the Task Force on Teaching as a Profession. This task force came up with National Board Certification. And to this day, it is one of the recommendations that is still going strong, and strongly improving the schools for our children.
Photo: Flickr wittco.gmbh
@Jo, I think you phrased the importance of NBPTS status quite well; I especially like how you discuss how it creates a momentum of professionalism that is good for everyone around. Every since becoming an NBCT I have been involved in more leadership roles. Is this because of my new status, partly. Did I always have this potential, probably, but the process of going through NBPTS gave me the perspective to apply my potential to the classroom and out. Glad you found the process positive. Your students are lucky to have you.
Let me know what you think after you go through the training. I found that the training further improves the way NBCTs interact with their classroom (and in NBPTS language the impact on student language is even greater because you get to impart that high caliber instruction to other teachers).
I just achieved NBC in November. (Travis, your support was fantastic! Thanks!) I have also just registered for facilitator training. I can’t wait. I have realized that professional interaction is imperative for me to remain motivated, energized, and postive through the school-year and during the July-August repair, rebuild, renew period.
I always tell my students to be the change they want to see. As educators, we need to keep each other motivated and use the momentum gained to create change….one NBCT at a time.
Rachel, Foster is an asset to the educational system of Washington. I agree.
I too am NBC (MC-GEN 2004) and a Washington State facilitator. The training I received was fantastic, and the support I get working through Gonzaga University is tremendous, perhaps greatly in part due to the wonderful Foster Walsh. I was disheartened, however, to find so many of my last year’s candidates going through the process simply for the money. As a private school teacher I don’t receive the stipend, and I knew this going into the process. It helped me improve my teaching tremendously, and that’s why I did it.
Jim, glad to hear that you are thinking about it. This year, there are about 1954 candidates going through the NBPTS program; I believe that this is the largest group of NBPTS candidates in the country. Yea! Washington for having such a focus on education. Let me know if you have any questions.
I was thinking about national board certification. I hemmed. I hawwed. This has me inspired to do it next year.