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