Final results due in December
By: Amanda Bok
Four teachers at Crossroads School are seeking to improve their teaching skills and advance in their professions by gaining national board certification.
English teachers Carol Piza, Paige Rimmer and David Morgan and math teacher Paula Lamprecht, began the board certification process in October 1999, finished it in April 2000 and expect the results at the end of this month.
National board certification, sponsored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, is a rigorous program that recognizes exemplary teaching. Board certified teachers are able to teach nationwide and in some states receive financial rewards, although that is not the case in New Jersey.
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‘The ultimate idea of certification is to achieve such a high level of professionalism, you would transcend all state requirements and be able to teach everywhere.’ Carol Piza |
Primarily, the certification process makes teachers reflect on their teaching and find ways to improve it.
"The ultimate idea of certification is to achieve such a high level of professionalism, you would transcend all state requirements and be able to teach everywhere," said Ms. Piza.
Applying for certification entails a six-month process in which teachers compile a portfolio of visual and written evidence of their teaching techniques. This includes submitting their class preparation material, student work, feedback and self-evaluations.
Teachers also submit videotapes of small- and large-group instruction, and have to demonstrate active involvement with parents, the community and in professional growth.
The application process includes testimony of fellow school officials and members of the community. For instance, Ms. Lamprecht said that to prove she had attended a teaching seminar, she needed written confirmation from Assistant Superintendent Willa Spicer.
"You had to prove everything and get verification from principals, superintendents, supervisors and fellow teachers," said Ms. Lamprecht.
Once teachers compiled their portfolio, they took a computerized exam comprised of four, 90-minute essay questions. The exam tested them on knowledge of their field and the ability to work with bilingual students. It also required them to design a school writing program and plan an independent school reading program.
In preparation, teachers met with other teachers from all over New Jersey to exchange ideas and work through the certification process together.
"You become a better teacher when you work closely with others," said Ms. Piza.
The teachers said they were nervous, especially because less than 45 percent of teachers who apply for certification actually get it on their first try. Nevertheless, they said it is the process itself that is most instructive.
"It raises your level of awareness of what you’re doing. You look at the kids you work with and know how to connect with them," said Mr. Morgan.
"The teachers learn more by going through the process and being reflective than by getting board certified, and that’s true of any kind of learning," said Vincent DeLucia, assistant to the superintendent.
Each year, the South Brunswick board of education invites all district teachers, with the condition that they have been in the profession for at least three years, to apply for board certification.
Last year, these four teachers expressed their interest.
The board pays the $2,300 application fee that lets teachers do this, but offers no other financial incentive.
Mr. DeLucia said other states may offer teachers an increase in salary if they are board certified. California, for instance, pays teachers $10,000 a year if they qualify for certification. New Jersey doesn’t offer such financial rewards, said Mr. DeLucia.
"That’s why I really admire our teachers. They are doing this on their time, and doing it because they are dedicated to what they do, and love doing it."
Certification is valid for 10 years, at which point it can be renewed. Mr. DeLucia said New Jersey had between 20 and 25 board certified teachers, of which about 16 teachers work in the South Brunswick school district.
Applying for board certification is a rigorous process taking hundreds of hours and producing about 100 pages of accumulated work, but teachers said it makes them better teachers, and this benefits their students.
"The best people to tell you whether the process was good are the kids," said Ms. Lamprecht. "They are the best evaluators because they are honest and will tell you whether they understand something or not."
The idea of board certification was developed 15 years ago under the Bush administration, said Mr. DeLucia. The first group of teachers wasn’t certified until 1994, when there were only two categories for certification, general elementary and English language arts for the middle school level.
Today, there are 39 areas in which teachers can seek certification. They include a variety of subject areas in the middle school and high school levels, as well as early childhood, art, technology and vocational certifications, he said.
"Teaching is a continuous learning process," said Ms. Lamprecht. "When I went through the process, I was happy to see I was already doing what a good teacher would do, but it also gave me new ideas to use."
Such ideas included assessing students in different ways, she said. For instance, when teaching them math problems, she said, she would not only ask them what they had learned, but if they could expand on it and find other ways of reaching the same solution.
"The process was very challenging and a lot of work," said Ms. Lamprecht. "On top of teaching and preparing your lessons for class, you put a couple of hours at night into the board certification process. My entire portfolio ended up being almost 100 pages."
The teachers said they couldn’t have done it without the support of their students and school colleagues, particularly Mr. DeLucia and Susan Winstanley, staff aide for curriculum.
"Doing it together made us learn as professionals," said Ms. Piza, citing the critique and collaboration they offered each other.
Teachers are expected to hear the results at the end of this month. Should they fail one component of the many they completed, they will be able to retake it individually and apply again.
They said regardless of the result, they learned a lot from the process.
"Students of the future will benefit. Even if we don’t get certified, we learned," Ms. Piza said.