Washington state can now welcome 919 new NBCTs to its education system. My heartfelt congratulations to each NBCT. I know what it was like to go through the process and I know the optimism for education that you are feeling now.
My heartfelt thanks to policy makers who have supported the process of NBPTS with Washington's incentives and support. You are a state in a class of its own. People are noticing the strength of the state's process, NBPTS is noticing.
My heartfelt thanks to organizations both private and state who have made the process of NBPTS more attainable for candidates with their support and dedication. The list is long.
Across the nation, "more than 9,600 teachers achieved National Board Certification--bringing the total number of the nation's top teachers to nearly 74,000."
The impact of these teachers on the learning of their students is huge.
A whole new world opens up for NBCTs. There is a sense of confidence, even validation for the strength that one possesses in the art and science of teaching. I have two questions for NBCTs.
(1) How will National Board Certification affect your classroom/school/district/state?
(2) What is your next step now that you are certified (any leadership thoughts)?
To every candidate, thank you for making the education system of Washington a leader. You will make a difference in our student's learning. If you have a specific group, organization, or person out there who deserves thanks, take this opportunity to thank them and send them a link to this post.
01.09.09: Update, Washington has 2727 NBCTs! Way to go gang.
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Celia, I'm glad you found the blog, and thank you for your thoughtful comments. I'm sure others can relate to the lows (what if...?) and highs (rejuvenation!) that you articulate about the impact of the process. I know I can...even though my certification was eight years ago it seems like yesterday.
Any next steps in mind?
In response to the first question: How will NB Cert affect your classroom/school/district/state... I have already felt a change in my classroom. Through the process of NBPTS I worked with a WSU group, twice a month. We reflected on our teaching in ways I hadn't yet experienced. I was able to become more intentional, purposeful and reflected than I thought possible. Holding on to the lessons I learned from those gatherings has helped me stay focused in what often times is a whirlwind of children, documentation, tests, administrative initiatives, meeting after meeting etc. ...and always with the lingering worry of (what if I didn't pass???) Now that I have, I find myself rejuvenated in a way I, honestly, didn't realize I needed... I have become even more daring in my teaching, testing the waters of the myriad ways in which student's can learn and how to encourage the realization that students can and should own their education. I find myself challenging the students to challenge me and we are all discovering new and unexplored paths of learning as a result.