July 07, 2008

Welcome Center director leads Nebraska team to meet with U.S. Congress members

Grand Island Public Schools Welcome Center Coordinator Joanne M. Garrison has been selected by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to lead Nebraska's delegation of National Board Certified Teachers to meet with U.S. Congress members to discuss education reform on Thursday, July 17.

Several hundred more teachers from across the country will join the Nebraska delegation focusing on expanding the dialogue about how National Board Certification is refining the standards for teacher effectiveness and high-quality student learning in the 21st century.  
Garrison achieved National Board Certification in 2007.

Capitol Hill Day 2008, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, comes at a time when the highly respected National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies recently affirmed that NBPTS has had a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention and professional development.

In the most rigorous and comprehensive study to date about National Board Certification, the NRC found that students taught by National Board Certified Teachers make higher gains on achievement tests than those taught by teachers who have not applied and those who did not achieve certification.

The NRC also found that National Board Certification has a positive impact on teacher retention because National Board Certified Teachers are more likely to stay on the job longer than other teachers. In addition, the committee acknowledged that National Board Certification is an effective professional development experience that, teachers say, positively affects teaching practices.

With 8,500 new National Board Certified Teachers last year -- the largest class ever -- there are nearly 64,000 NBCTs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teacher who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous criteria through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment, and peer review.

Regarded as some of the most accomplished teachers in the nation, National Board Certified Teachers are routinely in the ranks of State Teachers of the Year. Four of the last eight National Teachers of the Year have been National Board certified. These accomplished teachers comprise about 2 percent of the nation's teaching force.

National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward accomplished teachers. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, NBCTs have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills, and practices. Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete.
As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, video recordings and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.

For more information about NBPTS and National Board Certification, visit the NBPTS Web site at www.nbpts.org.

For more information, contact: Joanne Garrison, coordinator, Grand Island Public Schools Welcome Center, 1127 S. Locust St., (308) 385-5551, (308) 380-2196 (cell phone), jogarris@gips.org