Certifying Teaching ExcellenceCertifying Teaching Excellence

The Louisiana InitiativeThe Louisiana Initiative

National Board Certification® …

A voluntary certification program that identifies great teachers–and makes them better

A certification process that reflects advanced content knowledge and teaching skills

An assessment based on national teaching standards

The NBPTS Mission

Develop professional standards for accomplished teaching

Administer the voluntary assessment process certifying teachers who meet the standards

Leverage National Board Certified Teachers in advancing U.S. education reform

As an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, its mission is to:

National Board Certification… Teacher-driven

Practicing classroom teachers:

Serve on the NBPTS Board of Directors

Develop the standards

Score the assessments

Promote National Board Certification

Provide candidate support

Advocate related education reforms

NBPTS Five Core Propositions

1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.

3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.

4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

5. Teachers are members of learning communities.

National Board Certification

Applicants must have:

At least three years’ experience as a preK-12 classroom teacher or school counselor in a public or private school

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution

A valid teaching license or a license to practice as a school counselor

Certificate Areas

•Art

•Career and Technical

Education

•English as a New

Language

•English Language Arts

•Exceptional Needs

Specialist

•Generalist

•Health Education

•Library Media

•Social Studies-History

•Physical Education

•School Counseling

•World Languages Other than

English; French and Spanish

•Literacy: Reading-Language

Arts

•Mathematics

•Music

•Science

The Process

1. A four-part portfolio of classroom teaching practice

2. A six-part assessment of content knowledge administered at a testing center

National Board Certification can take one to three years to complete—and consists of two major components:

The Portfolio

Three classroom-based entries focused on reflection and written commentary-- supported by student work and classroom videos

One entry documenting accomplishments (professional, family, community) connected to student learning

All completed during the school year with the same group of students

Six exercises delivered via a computer at testing centers

Each exercise allows up to 30 minutes for a candidate’s response

Each exercise focuses on content knowledge not necessarily demonstrated in portfolio entries

The Assessment

National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) by State

64,000 NBCTs as of December 4, 2007

Contributes to Continuing Education Units (CEU)/ re-certification requirements

63,852 NBCTs nationally; about 2% of the teaching population

Louisiana currently has 1217 NBCTs

Louisiana ranks 13th in the nation for the number of NBCTs

Louisiana ranks 9th in the nation for the percentage of teachers who are NBCTs (2.8%)

Where Louisiana Stands

National Board Certified Teachers:

Nonrefundable Application Processing Fee: $65

Nonrefundable initial Fee: $500

Assessment Fee: $2000

Total Fees: $2,565

How Much Does it Cost?

8(g) Grant and Federal Monies:

$2000 subsidy for eligible first round and/or second round applicants

$850 from 8(g) and $1150 from federal funds

Teacher Take One!™ - $395 for eligible second/third round candidates

Teacher Take One! TM - Allows educators to begin the process on a smaller scale by submitting only one pre-determined portfolio entry.

Louisiana Subsidy Process

Online application is to be completed on the LDOE website: http://louisianaschools.net

Online application essay (no more than 1000 words) describing, analyzing, and reflecting upon teaching practice is part of the application

The rubric for the essay is posted on the application. It is aligned with the NBPTS scoring guide for portfolio entries/assessment center exercises. It is a 4 point scale.

Essays are scored by NBCTs who serve as candidate support providers around the state.

Score determines if an applicant is in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round of funding. The number of applicants who receive funding depends upon the program’s 8(g) and federal funding.

Incomplete or late submissions will not be considered for selection.

Louisiana Subsidy Process

Louisiana Initiative timeline February and March 2009: potential candidates

must attend or their application will not be considered

April 2009: Online application opens; potential candidates must complete this application in its entirety to be considered for the subsidy.

May 2009: Application closes; essays are distributed across the state for scoring

June 2009: Applicants will receive notification of their funding status

July 2009: Funded candidates must attend one of the writing seminars held around the state

August 2009- April 2010: Candidates must attend 6 of the 8 monthly PLC meetings

Louisiana Initiative timeline February and March 2009: potential candidates

must attend or their application will not be considered

April 2009: Online application opens; potential candidates must complete this application in its entirety to be considered for the subsidy.

May 2009: Application closes; essays are distributed across the state for scoring

June 2009: Applicants will receive notification of their funding status

July 2009: Funded candidates must attend one of the writing seminars held around the state

August 2009- April 2010: Candidates must attend 6 of the 8 monthly PLC meetings

Louisiana NBC Subsidy Candidate Requirements

Employment Verification Form (Due September 1, 2009)• Will need to be completed and sent for signatures

from principal and superintendent Writing Seminar (6 two-day seminars held

around the state)• Focuses on three types of writing (descriptive,

analytic and reflective)• Subsidy candidates must attend both days

Candidate Support Meetings (Begin in August)• Assigned mentor to promote professional

growth through NBC process• Subsidy candidates must attend 6 of the 8

meetings

Monetary Benefits for NBCTs Some districts provide additional

supplements State Supplement• $5000 salary supplement for eligible

National Board Certified Teachers – public schools only

• Qualify for the supplement the year after certification (i.e. if you certify in December of 2010, you would be eligible for the supplement beginning in the 2011-2012 school year)

Common Questions

Does a Temporary Authority to Teach (TAT) count towards years of experience? Answer: No

Does a Practitioner's License (PL) count towards years of experience? Answer: Yes

The Name Game????? Be consistent; use the name that is on

your photo identification

For more information…NBPTS Toll-free phone number:

1-800-22TEACH

NBPTS Web site:

www.nbpts.org

Access the following online at no charge: Standards for each certificate Portfolio entry instructions Scoring guides and retired prompts Online assessment center tutorial Assessment center information

Louisiana Department of Education Contact Information:

Andrea Farmer, NBCT

Andrea.Farmer@La.gov or 225-342-0926

Questions?