U.S. Rep. Susan Davis Joins NBCTs, Education Officials in California Celebration of Excellence in Education
U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) recently joined National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) from across the country, NBCT candidates, prospective NBCTs, superintendents, principals and other education officials at National University in La Jolla, Calif., to recognize and celebrate excellence in education.
Davis, a longtime advocate for National Board Certification, discussed her support for NBCTs across the nation. She complimented National University for its efforts to support NBCTs throughout the country. Sharing updates on her work to establish legislation compensating NBCTs, particularly those in low-performing schools, she urged NBCTs to support the bill and contribute ideas by meeting with her.
“The turnout was phenomenal and provided widespread recognition regarding National Board Certification programs that extend far beyond the National University system,” said Sidney Castle, an associate professor with the National University School of Education (SOE), and one of many faculty members to attend the June event.
“A true measure of the national impact were the people who came on their own dime from as far away as Hawaii, Alaska, Maryland, and Illinois” said Castle. “And they didn’t see themselves as visitors. They saw themselves as active members of a thriving team of educators.”
More than 150 guests attended the reception, including 40 NBCT faculty members who participated in the advanced training for “NBCT Evidence Centered Accomplished Coaches” prior to the celebration.
Rae Adams, California Professional Teaching Development Center NBCT program director for SOE, read congratulatory proclamations from California State Sen. Christine Keho and U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, who also presented certificates of achievement to NBCTs and candidates who completed the rigorous assessment process.
SOE Dean C. Kalani Beyer was presented with a certificate of outstanding achievement as the only dean of a school of education who is an NBCT.
“Our chancellor, president, provost and dean have been champions of integrating National Board tools and teachers into our programs for nearly seven years,” said Adams. “They consistently provide extraordinary support and resources, the result of which are exemplary faculty, service and programs that reach across schools, districts, states and organizations sharing a common target to increase student achievement through the development of highly accomplished teachers and leaders.”
“We created a huge regional dialog among the elite learning community that has formed around our NU Center,” Adams added. “Attendees felt energized, appreciated and proud of their accomplishments.”
National University provides a program that offers both support and graduate credit for teachers who engage in the development of the NBCT portfolio process. Each course is taught by NBCT adjunct faculty, trained as Certified Support Providers who may take advanced training to earn a certificate as an “Evidence Centered Accomplished Coach” (ECAC), according to Adams.
“I am so proud and fortunate to work for a university that get’s it — where leadership knows that the National Board Standards and processes are at the heart of developing the best teachers in the country, the ones that every student deserves and needs, and that earning National Board Certification is only a step along a continuous journey of learning and improving,” Adams said.
In California, National University is one of only three of 32 universities that offer a master’s degree incorporating NBCT coursework into the program. The Master of Arts in Teaching with a specialization in National Board Certified Teacher leadership is one of the university’s most popular programs.
National University serves as a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Professional Teaching Development Center in California, one of five centers in the state. Teachers have the unique opportunity to parallel coursework with participation in an online Professional Learning Community of NBCTs, new teachers, principals and coaches from across the country, to interact with each other to support candidates in and beyond the process.
Of the 349 new California NBCTs named last year, 81 are National University alumni, students or previous enrollees in NBCT courses. Those alumni constitute 23 percent of the statewide total. That is almost one in every four new NBCTs in the state of California which exceeds the already-impressive five year average of 20 percent.
There may be additional alumni NBCTs who have not been identified yet. “We are anxious to identify the number of NU alums from outside of CA who have achieved National Board Certification,” Adams explained.
For information, and to get involved in the University’s PTDC activities, List Serve and online Accomplished Teaching and Leadership Virtual Network, please contact
radams@nu.edu.
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