LAWTON Okla_ Some Lawton teachers are being recognized as some of the best in the country.
Five LPS teachers earn board
certification
Five
teachers in the Lawton Public Schools have achieved National Board
Certification, according to an announcement this week by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The five were among 73 Oklahoma educators who
earned the teaching profession's top recognition this year.
Susan Hinson, a teacher at Pat Henry
Elementary, earned National Board Certification in literacy/reading-language
arts and early and middle childhood, while Susan Hohstadt at Whittier Elementary was
certified in literacy/reading-language arts. Mary Beth Kwenda, a teacher at Eisenhower
High, is now board-certified in adolescence and young adulthood/English language
arts. Erin Mull at Pat Henry
Elementary and Tanya Sims at
Beginnings
Academy were both certified
as early childhood/generalists.
Oklahoma
now has 3,056 National Board Certified teachers – and more than 50 of them are
in the Lawton
school system.
The 73 teachers ranks Oklahoma ninth nationally among states with
teachers achieving National Board Certification. Nationwide, nearly 5,000
teachers achieved National Board Certification this year, bringing the total
number certified to more than 102,000.
National Board Certification is a
symbol of professional teaching excellence. A certificate will attest that a
teacher was judged by his or her peers as one who is accomplished, makes sound
professional judgments about students' best interests and acts effectively on
those judgments. Since it is voluntary, National Board Certification complements
– but does not replace – state licensing. While state-licensing systems set
entry-level standards for novice teachers, National Board Certification
establishes advanced standards for experienced teachers.
National Board
Certification measures a teacher's practice against high and rigorous standards
through an extensive series of performance-based assessments, which includes
teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes or DVDs and thorough
analyses of the candidate's teaching and the students' learning. The process
involves written exercises that probe the depth of a candidate's subject-matter
knowledge, as well as his or her understanding of how to teach those
subjects.
Certification is voluntary and open to anyone with a
baccalaureate degree and three years of classroom experience in either a public
or private school. It is valid for 10 years, after which a teacher must seek
renewal.
Those who earn National Board Certification are among the most
effective teachers in today's classrooms. Not only do these teachers have a
greater impact on student success, they also create a multiplying effect,
helping fellow teachers understand and promote high-quality teaching and
learning.
Board certified teachers promote higher student achievement,
especially in low-performing schools. This is an asset to schools working to
make adequate yearly progress as required by the federal No Child Left Behind
Act.
National Board Certification not only identifies accomplished
teachers, but it is also a professional development experience for all
candidates who go through the process, whether or not they achieve
certification.
