Burke teachers earn National Board certification

By: Steve Welker | Morganton News Herald
Published: March 09, 2010

Morganton, NC --

The Burke County Board of Education this week saluted 17 teachers who have earned National Board for Professional Teacher Standards certification.
The school board also recognized nine teachers who earned National Board certification 10 years ago and now have been recertified.
National Board certification is regarded nationwide as the highest standard for teaching.
Burke County Public Schools last year had 150 National Board-certified employees, which is almost 12 percent of the licensed staff compared with a statewide average of about 10 percent. Only 23 other N.C. school districts had more National Board-certified teachers in 2009.
Burke County is the state's 29th-largest school district by student population.
National Board certification requires candidates to voluntarily undergo a rigorous examination of what they know about teaching and how they apply it in the classroom. They're measured again proven high standards of education. Applicants must prepare a portfolio for peer review that shows their work in the classroom, including samples of student work and videos of the teacher in action, and they must pass an assessment of content knowledge administered at a computer-based testing center. The process usually takes the better part of a school year and 200 to 400 hours of work outside of the classroom.
"Teachers who have participated in National Board certification have overwhelmingly stated it is the most powerful professional development experience of their careers," according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. "They say the experience changes them as professionals and that through the process they deepen their content knowledge and develop, master and reflect on new approaches to working with their students."
North Carolina in 1994 began encouraging public-school teachers to earn National Board certification.
Subsequent research by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro found that National Board-certified teachers significantly outperform their non-certified peers in 11 of 13 key dimensions of teaching expertise.
Harvard University's recently released study of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools found that a teacher's having National Board certification has a greater positive impact on students' achievement than having a master's degree.
To encourage more teachers to earn certification, North Carolina pays board-certified teachers $3,000 to $5,400 more per year depending on whether they hold a bachelor's degree or master's and how long they have taught in the schools.
Burke County Public Schools' new National Board-certified teachers, listed by school, are:
Burke Middle College: Charity Williams.
Drexel Primary: Jennifer Hunt.
East ALPS: Nancy O'Donnell Sudderth.
East Burke High: Leslie Plemmons, Traci Stallings.
East Burke Middle School: Daniel R. Clark.
Forest Hill Elementary: Elaina Benson, Wendy Cooper.
Freedom High: Jana Langness.
George Hildebrand Elementary: Madeline Benfield.
Heritage Middle School: Linda Bradshaw, Elizabeth Harris, Christine Young.
Liberty Middle School: Elizabeth Rudicill, Lea Webb.
Patton High: Sarena Fuller, John Zimmerman.
The nine teachers who earned recertification after holding National Board certification for the past 10 years are Tonya Bailey of Icard Elementary, Jennifer Brittain of Forest Hill Elementary, Jacki Clark of East Burke Middle School, Robin David of George Hildebrand Elementary, Connie Gouge Price of Glen Alpine Elementary, Amy Helms of Drexel Elementary, Jennifer Kearson of Salem Elementary, Ann Shook of Mountain View Elementary and Debra Stamey of East Burk High School.

Burke teachers earn National Board certification

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