Wednesday, August 15, 2001
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Wednesday, August 15, 2001 |
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Fayette teachers set sights on national certification One of the highest designations that a teacher can receive is to become National Board certified. Only 9,531 teachers across the United States have earned the coveted certificate. In Georgia, 111 teachers currently hold national certification with four of them being from the Fayette County School System. Linda Brem of Fayette County High School was the first teacher in the school system to become certified in 1999. Tom Reed of Rising Starr Middle School also earned his certification in 1999 while teaching in the Clayton County School System. Sherry Stout of Fayette County High and Jill Kirkland of Peeples Elementary Schools are the latest Fayette teachers to receive their certification in 2000. Last year in the school system, approximately 24 teachers went through the National Board certification process. These teachers will find out whether or not they passed the requirements for certification this November. A total of 23 teachers have signed up to go through the certification process this year. "The process of becoming a National Board certified teacher has caused me to become much more reflective about my educational practices. Ultimately, I believe this has fostered greater student learning," Brem says. "Additionally, working with National Board candidates and other National Board certified teachers has allowed me to interact professionally with a variety of educators from all parts of the state and nation." Becoming National Board certified is a hard and rigorous task. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification, the governing body which awards national certification, has established a two-part evaluation process. One component of the assessment is done at the teacher's school. In this phase, teachers build a portfolio to show evidence of good teaching practice and to demonstrate how their teaching meets the advanced standards in their fields. The portfolio contains videotapes of classroom teaching, lesson plans, student work samples and reflective written commentaries that detail what the teacher is doing and why. The second component of the assessment involves a series of written exercises taken at an assessment center. Candidates spend one full day at the center completing exercises that are focused on a particular teacher's content knowledge. The computer-based exercises are designed around challenging teacher issues and include simulations of classroom practices, evaluating other teacher's practices, designing curriculum and assessing student learning. The entire assessment process takes place over the better part of a school year, during which most teachers report that they spend about 120 hours on assessment activities. The first time assessment pass rate is estimated to be less than 50 percent. So far in Fayette, teachers have had a 100 percent pass rate. Terri Gaspierik, coordinator of staff development, says the school system has implemented a strong support system to help teachers. Each year, a meeting is held to inform teachers about what is involved in obtaining certification. Throughout the year, teacher leaders, those who have already earned their certification, hold meetings with national board candidates to provide valuable guidance and support throughout the process. Also, as required by the state, the system gives teachers two days of duty leave to work on certification activities. "This program is extremely difficult and rigorous. It is important that candidates have a support system. A teacher in isolation will have a hard time passing," says Gaspierik. As more teachers in Fayette become nationally certified, Gaspierik says the goal is to have them become teacher leaders for specific certification areas. For example, a teacher whose area is high school English would work only with candidates who are seeking certification in that subject matter. Gaspierik says national certification is attractive to teachers because it offers them prestige and an increase in pay. "I would say that the increase in pay is the number one motivating factor for most people because it is a significant pay increase. Some teachers view national certification as better than going back to school to earn an additional degree," says Gaspierik. National certification is good for 10 years, after which the certificate has to be renewed. A teacher earning national certification is exempt from all certification requirements for that 10-year period. This is also an encouraging aspect for obtaining certification. In addition to more money, prestige and exemption from other certification requirements, Gaspierik says the process of working toward the national certificate helps to make better teachers. As teachers go through the assessment, they are forced to analyze what they are doing in the classroom and determine whether or not it is working. "After someone has been teaching for a while, it can become routine. This program forces teachers to evaluate if what they are doing is worthwhile and if it is meeting classroom objectives," adds Gaspierik. "This program is very hard and time intensive, but the results are great." National certification is reserved for teachers with three or more years of experience. It costs $2,300 to go through the program. However, teachers can apply to the state for $2,000. Also, there are scholarships offered through various educational and teacher organ
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