Highest certification a teacher can achieve

Redmond, Wash. – Seventeen Lake Washington School District teachers achieved or renewed their National Board Certification®, as announced by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Five teachers were certified for the first time and 12 teachers renewed their certification this year; certifications must be renewed every ten years. Teachers from around the district completed the process and will be recognized at an upcoming School Board Meeting. 

According to NBPTS, 352 teachers working in Lake Washington Schools have earned their certification. National Board certification is considered the highest professional credential a teacher can obtain.

“We are proud of our National Board Certified Teachers,” noted Dr. Jon Holmen, Superintendent. “National Board Certification represents a strong commitment to pursuing a high standard of excellence as an education professional. I congratulate all of our teachers who have achieved this certification.”

Certification is a one- to five-year process that includes taking an assessment and assembling three portfolios. According to the NBPTS, completing the certification shows that each teacher knows and practices “the definitive standards of accomplished teaching.”

Numbers released by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards show the state of Washington is third overall in the number of National Board Certified Teachers in the country at 11,645. 

Each teacher achieves certification in a subject area and age range.

The new National Board Certified Teachers are:

• Redmond: 
  • Rose Hill Middle School:
    • Kristen Becker-Brown – Early Adolescence/Social Studies-History
  • Redmond Middle School:
    • Dena Kernish – Early Adolescence/English Language Arts
  • Preschool Willows/Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary School: 
    • Samantha Powers – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood
• Sammamish: 
  • Eastlake High School: 
    • David Menenberg – Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Social Studies-History
    • Kara Riely – Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Social Studies-History 

Teachers renewing their NBCT status:

• Kirkland: 
  • Kirkland Middle School: 
    • Monica Engquist – Middle Childhood/Generalist
  • Lake Washington High School 
    • Beau Hansen – Early Adolescence/Social Studies-History
    • James (Ryan) Palmer – Early Adolescence/Science
  • Carl Sandburg Elementary School
    • Karla Nelson – Early and Middle Childhood/Literacy: Reading-Language Arts
• Redmond:
  • Redmond Middle School: 
    • Kelli Jaeger – Early Adolescence/Science
    • Elizabeth Metcalf – Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts
  • Redmond High School:
    • Evelynn Kolakowski – Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood/Exceptional Needs Specialist
    • Bryan Rowley – Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Social Studies-History
  • Emily Dickinson Elementary School:
    •  Danielle Lankester – Middle Childhood/Generalist
  • Rose Hill Middle School
    • Linda Thompson – Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts
• Sammamish:
  • Christa McAuliffe Elementary School: 
    • Anna Jaross – Early and Middle Childhood/Reading-Language Arts
  • Eastlake High School:
    • Cassie Wesson-Mast – Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Mathematics

# # # #

Lake Washington School District is a high-performing public school district serving Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish, Washington. It is the second-largest district in the state of Washington, with over 31,000 students in 56 schools.