Friday, December 7, 2001
|
Friday, December 7, 2001 |
|
Fulton teachers lead the state in National Board certification By STEPHEN
DOLINGER
The Fulton County School System celebrates the latest in a long string of good news. We have just learned that 37 of our teachers have received prestigious National Board certification. These 37 are in addition to seven teachers previously certified, bringing Fulton's overall total to 44. No other school system in Georgia can make such a proud statement. National Board certification is a symbol of professional teaching excellence. A voluntary process established by the National Board for professional teacher standards, this process is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes nearly a year to complete. Through the assessment process, teachers document their subject matter knowledge, provide evidence that they know how to most effectively teach their subjects to students, and demonstrate their ability to manage and measure student progress. A National Board certificate attests that a teacher was judged by his or her peers as one who is accomplished, makes sound professional judgments about students' best interests, and acts effectively on those judgments. The large number of Fulton teachers obtaining National Board certification reflects positively on the benefits of strategic planning. The Fulton County Board of Education, as part of its planning process, identified five key goal areas: student achievement, stake holder involvement and satisfaction, instructional and administrative processes, staff learning and growth, and financial performance. Within each goal area, objectives and performance measures were established. One performance measure under staff learning and growth concerned national certification. The board set a realistic goal of having 15 teachers certified by the end of 2001. To help reach that goal, the board committed financial and staff development resources. The efforts reaped enormous rewards. Having 44 National Board certified teachers far surpasses anyone's expectations and is a true testament to the quality of staff in the Fulton County School System. We commend the board for having the vision, and we commend our staff for rising to the expectations. National Board certification is just one of the many reasons to celebrate in the Fulton County School System. Our staff, students and schools continue to earn state and national recognition, and our reputation as a premiere school system continues to grow. As we stop during this holiday season and reflect on what we have accomplished, we extend an enormous thank you to the parents, business leaders, employees and community leaders who have worked with us to bring our system to where we are today. As we tell our students, however, this is only the beginning. Continual improvement is our expectation. While we are pleased with what we have done, we anticipate even greater things in the future. To learn more about the award-winning Fulton County School System, visit our Web site at www.fulton.k12.ga.us, or call our community relations department at 404-763-6830.
|
||