Our History

The Early Years

When Linda Darling Hammond arrived at Stanford University in 1998 there were only 6 National Board Certified Teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Believing that what teachers know and can do is the most important influence on what students learn, she set out to capitalize on the expertise of those six. In collaboration with Misty Sato, an expert teacher and then−Stanford doctoral student, she helped bring them together and led them through the formative years of establishing a center at Stanford whose mission was to support candidates for National Board certification, ultimately increasing their numbers to nearly 500 to become a more significant influence in Bay Area public schools.

Funding Enables Growth

With funding from a number of committed foundations— including the Hewlett Foundation, the Payne Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the State Farm Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation, and from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, over the years the work evolved from a fledgling group meeting in Linda’s living room assisted by those pioneer NBCTs, to The National Board Resource Center it has become.

The Center Today

While the core mission is the same and the support of its founder and sponsor is unwavering, it has expanded to a group of 15 support providers and a new director, Sandy Dean, all of whom are board certified alumni of the NBRC at Stanford. The number of candidates who meet one Saturday a month on the Stanford campus now numbers nearly one-hundred annually. In addition, the center has helped establish new support programs, conducted a major research project on the effects of Board certification, developed and shared the resources and knowledge with programs around the state, and is currently engaged in helping accomplished teachers make more substantial contributions to conversations that promote building teaching as a profession in California.