At the December 12 meeting, the Highline Board of Directors recognized four teachers who have achieved National Board certification. They were announced along with 480 other Washington teachers on December 4. Their names (and areas of certification) are Ron Adams (Early and Middle Childhood English as a New Language) and Diana Hass (Middle Childhood Generalist) who are both from Madrona Elementary, Victoria Holeman (Early and Middle Childhood Literacy, Reading) from Gregory Heights Elementary, and Kyong Yim (Early and Middle Childhood Literacy, Reading) from Midway Elementary. They join 17 other Highline NBCTs in meeting the rigorous assessment standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching.
Those standards are:
- Teachers are committed to students and learning.
- Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
- Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
- Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
- Teachers are members of learning communities.
In the past five years the number of NBCTs has nearly tripled nationwide while Highline’s number has increased seven-fold. Highline is now 23rd of 295 Washington districts in the number of NBCTs. Our 21 NBCTs are equivalent to 2 percent of the certificated teaching force.
(l-r) Kyong Yim, Diana Hass,
Ron Adams, Victoria Holeman
All NBCTs now receive a $5,000 bonus from the state, and (if assigned to teach in a high-poverty school) up to an additional $5,000 for the portion of their time spent teaching in high-needs schools. This year four Highline teachers (including three of the new NBCTs) qualify for the maximum $10,000 bonus. In addition to the bonus, NBCTs automatically meet requirements for advancement to the professional certificate, renewal of the professional, or maintenance of the continuing certificate.
Beyond certification, NBCTs are expected to contribute to the profession. Three Highline NBCTs (Sandra Hunt, Sandy Gady, and Tony Kahler) have been awarded grants by the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession for action research projects to further professional development. NBCT Claire Waistell has facilitated candidate cohorts, and still others have attended facilitator training to serve in that capacity. Several Highline NBCTs serve as instructional coaches, and split their time among several schools.
The district recently announced that it has established a budget for support to NBPTS candidates in the form of fees ($1,000 of the $2,500 total) tuition ($500) and release time, as well as access to equipment and technical advice. This support and the increased state bonus have stimulated a great deal of interest. For the 2007-08 school year, 18 Highline teachers/counselors have declared their candidacy, and 14 more have indicated a desire to participate in the partial assessment(Take One option)offered by NBPTS.
