Classy Designation Goes To Nine Local Teachers

Classy Designation Goes To Nine Local Teachers
By Reporter Staff

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has issued national board certification to nine teachers in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School district this year - more than any other district in Solano, Napa, or Contra Costa counties.

In fact, with respect to the number of new National Board Certified Teachers in a Northern California school district, the Fairfield-Suisun district is second only to San Francisco Unified School District, with 19, according to Kay Garcia, regional outreach director with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Statewide, Fairfield-Suisun is sixth in the number of new board certified teachers.

Local teachers to have achieved the certification this year include Nicole Mcnelis, who earned certification as a generalist/middle childhood specialist; Nancy Martinez, for literacy reading-language; Shaunti Buttram-Gonzalez, literacy with Cleo Gordon School; Julia Hunt, literacy with Suisun Elementary; Jessica Conover, science/early adolescence with Grange Middle School; Denise Brown, mathematics/ early adolescence with Grange Middle School; Teresa Liashenko, exceptional needs specialist/early childhood through young adult with Suisun Elementary; Joshua Patton, English language arts/early adolescence with Nelda Mundy School; and Delicia Saclolo, generalist/early childhood with B. Gayle Wilson School.

More than 60,000 of some of the most effective teachers in the country have demonstrated that they meet the highest teaching standards by becoming National Board certified, officials with the board said.

"Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous criteria through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review," said the board's President and CEO Joseph A. Aguerrebere. "Research demonstrates that National Board Certified Teachers consistently outperform their peers in knowledge of subject matter and ability to create challenging and engaging lessons."

National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward great teachers-and make them better. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, certified teachers have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices.

Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete. Overall, the first-year achievement rate is about 40 percent, culminating in an achievement rate of approximately 65 percent by the end of the third year.

As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan and nongovernmental organization.

For more information, visit www.nbpts.org.