National Board Certified Teachers

Kudos to National Board Certified Teachers, Lake Washington School District’s “Staff Stars” for February 2012.

Lake Washington School District learned in December that 36 teachers met the challenge of achieving National Board Certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). In addition, one teacher renewed her application.

Teachers earn this prestigious credential through a rigorous assessment that generally takes a year or more to complete. It requires these teachers to demonstrate how their work improves student achievement. As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach. It is considered the highest professional certification a teacher can obtain.

Here is how the process of achieving National Board Certification has benefited our new National Board Certified teachers:

• “My instruction has improved as a result of the greater amount of reflection that I put into my lesson planning and assessment analysis. The National Boards process pushes educators to find true evidence of student learning and that has made the greatest difference in my teaching.” - Jennifer Dressel, teacher, Franklin Elementary.
• “The process of achieving National Board Certification has reminded me how important it is to be reflective as a teacher. It has helped me to think about why I make each instructional decision that I do and how important it is to continually learn, adjust, and evolve as a teacher.” - Megan Porter, teacher, Rockwell Elementary
• “The process of achieving National Board Certification has made me more cognizant of how every assignment fits in to the overall goals I have written for my unit. I have eliminated activities and enhanced others that will help me achieve my goals. I have also created new assignments that give me the types of work samples I need to accurately assess a student's reasoning behind their answers, such as journal writes and short answer test questions.” - Tyrell Hardtke, teacher, Eastlake High School

More information about the National Board Certification process is available on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards website.

A full list of all district teachers who have achieved this status is below. The names are sorted alphabetically by school level. Also included are their subject areas of certification and the year that they achieved certification. New National Board Certified Teachers have a symbol (*) next to their name.