Testimonials

National Board process was the retooling I was seeking after 10 plus years of teaching. The process assisted in developing a deeper and more meaningful self-reflective aspect to my teaching. Professionally, I benefited from the certification process but more importantly, my students benefit from changes I made and continue to make as a result of participating in national board certification.

National Board process was the retooling I was seeking after 10 plus years of teaching. The process assisted in developing a deeper and more meaningful self-reflective aspect to my teaching. Professionally, I benefited from the certification process but more importantly, my students benefit from changes I made and continue to make as a result of participating in national board certification.

The national board certification process provided me with validation that what I was doing for my students in the classroom was very good. The certification process gave me insight as to how I could be even better.

The National Board certification process was the most meaningful, enriching and rigorous professional development in which I have ever participated. Not only did my teaching improve, but my definition of what I as a teacher should know and be able to do also changed, especially with regards to assessing students, improving my practice, and developing a student-centered, personalized approach. 

NB benefited me in other areas, too, such as improving my classroom confidence and subject-area competence.  On a different note, it helped me develop my leadership skills, as it did for others at my school who earned certification - three of the five of us have since become department heads, and all of us serve or have served on school site council, have trained staff and continue to be teacher-leaders at our school. 

Perhaps the most long-term effect of completing NB for me personally is that I feel that I can always grow in new directions, focus on positive change instead of negative complacence, and connect with others who choose to dream, collaborate, and accomplish.  

I think more carefully about what I will teach and how I will teach it. It was such an educational experience that I had decided that, if I didn't certify the first time through, that I would try again. I learned so much just by going through the process.

The two biggest contributors to my success are the design of the support program and the design of the certification program itself. Both are engineered to make you become a better teacher just by participating in the process.

Prior to my involvement with National Boards I was starting to feel the "burn out" that is common after 10 years of teaching. When my principal suggested that I pursue NB certification, I thought she was crazy. At a time when I was questioning whether or not I should continue working in the teaching profession, she suggested that I delve deeper into it.

I'm so glad I listened to her and attended the support group for National Board certification at Stanford. It has completely revitalized my teaching practice. I now, 4 years after achieving certification, approach my classroom as a problem solver. There is little or nothing in my class that is done "just because." There is a reason that the desks are arranged the way they are, the children line up the way they do, I organize long range lesson plans the way I do, and I teach the standards the way that I do.

I may not have much say over WHAT is taught (given the strict mandates of my district to teach given concepts at certain times of the year/month/week/day/hour), but
I have control over HOW. This has made an enormous difference in the way that my students learn.

NBPTS certification really lit something in me. Once I achieved certification, I felt an intense desire to improve my teaching practice in other ways. I obtained a master's degree in education, worked for NB as an assessor, spent a summer with the Bay Area
Writing Project, and will be spending the upcoming summer as a returning fellow with BAWP. My desire to improve my teaching practice (that began when I first worked toward NB certification) has been ongoing.

I truly believe that had it not been for the National Board process and the inspiration provided by the teachers and support staff involved in the Stanford support program I would no longer be teaching, or at the very least, I would no longer enjoy teaching...and what would be the point of that?

One aspect of the National Board Certification process that really changed the way I teach is the emphasis on really getting to know your students.  Since that time, I have implemented questionnaires and multiple intelligence surveys with all my students and it actually informs and shapes the way I teach.  I have been able to make much more personal connections to students, which they seem to value.  I am able to provide avenues of instruction that are more individualized to the styles of different classes.  Since I became certified, "differentiated instruction" has become one of the major buzzwords and ideas of our profession.  I feel that I am way ahead of the game in that department and find that I am able to help others grasp the idea and implement it.

I can tell you that completing my national boards has forced me to look at the things I do with a different outlook.  I stop more to see that I am assessing daily and that my communication is clear.  It has made me think about how am I meeting the needs of my families more.  When I feel like I am in a rut, I use the standards to reflect and see how I can do something different.


National Board Certification drastically changed who I am as a teacher and as a Speech Language Pathologist.  During my year as a NB candidate I learned to step outside of my own 'world' and to utilize the wisdom of my co-workers.  I also learned to think more critically about my own practice with children so that my work is always centered on best practice for children.  Rather than completing an activity because it is part of what I do, I think critically about each activity I present, and why I am using that activity over any other.  My ultimate goal is always to promote student learning.  I also learned the key value in including family partnerships in my thinking, and to recognize that our families are our best support system.  Ultimately, NB certification caused me to become far more reflective about my own practice and then to consider how to continue to find professional development opportunities.   
  


In my school program I work with a variety of teachers and other SLP's.  I learned to work carefully with a team of professionals, while maintaining the focus on child needs and growth.  My understanding of my own practice has grown and that enables me to convey this information more concisely to the families in my care.  National Board certification was an intensive year of reflective learning and thinking that ultimately supported my development as a SLP and teacher. It is by far the best professional development I have undertaken.  
  


Since my certification in 2006 I have taught at the University level, led a variety of inservices for co-workers, and recently began a doctoral program. I feel that National Board Certification helped give me a focus to support my ultimate goal, which is how to better support the children and families in my care.
  
I recommend this process to everyone!

One of the pivotal elements about National Board certification is its Professional Teaching Standards. As programs come and wane, the standards provide a balanced lens through which to examine programs. As a teacher who works in under served communities this is especially critical as it is important that we get education right. The education established at such schools must first primarily nourish the student as a human being and serve as a pathway to opportunity. The five core propositions time and again provide a view with which to evaluate what my school should be about.
 


The other pivotal element from my certification is that of opening up one's practice. Since I have been an Instructional Reform Facilitator (IRF), making observations or watching videos of teaching practice have been central. The reasons for this are many. It is good for the teacher to examine those elements in her/his teaching that are working and those that he/she is unaware of. It is a catalyst for change and improvement to examine how students respond to one's teaching. It sheds light how we treat our students especially in underserved communities. On the other hand, I have learned so much from watching other teachers in action. It is like being a student teacher again. I notice the protocols established, the voice inflection, the planning, the timing, the engagement of students, etc. The observer learns as much as the observed. Another aspect about opening up one's practice is the democratic way of improving teacher quality. I am not the sole "expert" on inquiry science, interactive editing or guided reading. The community of teachers each has their expertise and individual teachers are enriched by the whole of their comments.


I went through the process and can support it without reservation as one of the most effective professional development opportunities available to educators in promoting student success and reaching all students. The best aspect for me was participating in the reality that among our numbers the creativity and knowledge exists to solve educational issues as they present themselves, without bringing in gurus or overlaying overlords or scripting lessons.  The answers lie within us collaboratively, and within our questions, and that truth is lived throughout the process.  I support any who follow the path toward certification whether they get it or not, because the process is valuable.  

As a novice teacher there were a few veteran teachers at my school who were outstanding - teachers that just "got it" - the kind that you're lucky to encounter once or twice as a student. I didn't know how to approach their level and my credentialing program (not rigorous in any way) didn't provide much guidance.  

National Board was the key that at least started to unlock the door to GREAT teaching. Studying the standards and interacting with other similarly motivated professionals felt like moving from the minor leagues to the major leagues of good teaching. The NB standards articulate a vision for accomplished teaching that I had suspected existed but had never before seen in one place. The NB standards/process honor the teaching profession by presenting a provocative expectation for what it means to be excellent. The certification process requires teachers to dig in so deeply to their rationale for instruction and assessment that one can't help but get better. It taught me what it means to be a truly reflective teacher.
 
When I am a principal eventually I will certainly push my teachers toward becoming certified.  

I pursued board certification as a way to obtain some certainty as to my teaching. I was tired of the emotional roller coaster of self-doubt. In the process I realized the depth of my knowledge and also the next steps in my journey as a teacher. What I didn't realize was that becoming certified changes you. 



I am a significantly more powerful teacher, colleague, and advocate for children. My identity changed and I no longer allow myself to wallow in self-doubt. Now I know that every part of my practice involves thought and reason. If a lesson fails I simply figure out why. If a student struggles I find out why. It is no longer sufficient to say, "I can't." I tell people that, in its simplicity, board certification means you are a teacher that doesn't give up on students!



I see myself as a leader and advocate. I speak up when I have to and support when I need to, not because I am better, but because this process made it clear to me that we are in this together and we ARE the experts! If we don't speak up, who will?

The National Board Certification process taught me that I can do something that I had almost given up on. I learned that I can teach all those darn “standards”, try to help students pass all those “tests”, and still focus on what I love most – my students themselves. Learning (I mean REALLY learning) the Teaching Standards through the National Board Certification gave me the peace of mind that I am doing a good job in ALL of the many parts of my job.

Every teacher needs to do this!