Erin Snell & Karen Halladay: National Board Certified!!!

Two of our very own staff members received some incredible news recently; National Board Certified!  A HUGE congratulations to Erin Snell, Early Childhood teacher, and Karen Halladay, Librarian, for achieving this highly regarded certification.  The process to become National Board Certified is no small feat.  Below is some information about this distinguished honor.

National Board Certification 

Following the development of certificate standards, the National Board collaborated with a skilled team of psychometricians to create the process by which a teacher could be fairly and reliably assessed as meeting those standards.

This new certification was the first of its kind in education. Built and overseen by the profession, the process of becoming National Board Certified was performance-based, multiple-measure, peer-reviewed, anonymously submitted and built on the highest standards of measurement to assure the results were valid and reliable. There was now a process for asserting when teachers had successfully moved through their novice years and had reached a level of accomplishment, similar to what had existed in other major professions.

By 1993, only six years after its founding, the National Board was ready to welcome the first teachers who elected to pursue certification. Within a few years, National Board Certification became the most rigorous, coveted and respected professional certification available in education.

Mission

The mission of the National Board is to advance student learning and achievement by establishing the definitive standards and systems for certifying accomplished educators, providing programs and advocating policies that support excellence in teaching and leading and engaging National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) and leaders in that process.

The National Board seeks to elevate the status, voice and role of accomplished teachers in shaping a true profession. This includes 1) raising public awareness with respect to the cognitively complex, collaborative and expertise-driven nature of teachers’ work; 2) setting higher standards for entry and advancement into the profession; and 3) recognizing accomplished teaching through a rigorous professional certification process comparable to those found in other premier professions, such as medicine, engineering and law.