Record Number of WCS Teachers Earn National Board Certification

TEACHER

"Pursuing National Board Certification has caused me to think about teaching in a new light. This process helped me become more reflective and helped me focus on my specific students and the impact my instructional decisions had upon their learning.  I feel like I am a stronger teacher now because of the skills and insights gained throughout the process."

"The greatest effect the National Board Certification process has had on my teaching lies in the area of keeping my planning fresh and creative.  In addition, I increased my levels of communication with parents and the community at large, and I also investigated further methods of collaboration with colleagues."

"The experience of National Board Certification has help me reflect, and evaluate my students to achieve higher gains. This process has also allowed me to grow and become a better teacher."

"The process of National Board Certification has been a rewarding journey that has made me a better teacher.  The video-taping, analysis and writing forced me to do many hours of in-depth reflection on my teaching.  The process requires you to know every student's individual needs and to put into words exactly what you are doing to meet those needs."

"I learned more about self-evaluation, especially through video-taping my teaching.  I feel that National Board Certification opened avenues for collaboration with fellow teachers in other schools in our district as well."

"I learned more about examining student progress using multiple methods of evaluation, as well as how to collect evidence that clearly shows my impact on student learning and a greater understanding of the national standards for teachers."

"This experience helped me to become a better teacher because it taught me to thoroughly reflect on and revise my teaching.  By looking so closely at what I do, why I do it, and who is learning, I am sure that I am creating valuable learning experiences for my students."

"This was the most intense professional development in which I have ever participated.  The process validated my beliefs about learning and children, and intensified my passion for teaching even more.  As I worked through the various portfolio entries,  I found myself being stretched in new directions for engaging my children in their own learning, and I reflected often about myself as a learner, a communicator and a contributing member of a larger learning community."

"Going through the process of National Board Certification strengthened my awareness of the importance of collaboration with peers and other professionals.  I strive to be a lifelong learner and to share that learning with other teachers.  This has helped me to become a better teacher and positively impacts my students' learning."    

"The process of becoming National Board Certified is intense, but it offered many opportunities to talk to my students about why we do hard things when the reward is not immediately evident.  It improved my teaching by forcing me to give close attention to every aspect of the craft as well as allowing other teachers to scrutinize my teaching and offer feedback."

"I am much more intentional in my teaching.  The certification process caused me to thoroughly examine all of my teaching practices and my entire library design.  I was able to purposefully reflect on those elements that worked and make improvements where needed."

"National Certification has taught me to think even more critically about the cycle of student learning.  Its tenants fuse perfectly with the WCS push for more careful analysis of both formative and summative assessment in order to achieve more in-depth learning.  While the process is arduous, I would recommend it to experienced teachers who desire a challenge."

"The National Board Certification process was a rare opportunity to reflect upon and analyze my teaching techniques.  Watching video of myself teaching was enlightening and showed the positives and negatives of my student interactions when viewed from their vantage point.  This process has made me a more reflective and hopefully effective teacher and I hope I don’t soon forget its lessons."

"The process of achieving National Board Certification has been one of the best professional development experiences I have had.  Completing the portfolio entries forced me to reflect long and hard about what I teach, how I teach it, and why I believe that it is effective.  Though the process was long, and often frustrating and exhausting, I firmly believe that I am a better teacher today for having gone through it."

"This experience has helped me become a better teacher by causing me to thoroughly reflect on everything I do as a teacher.  Unlike any other professional development opportunity, the National Board Certification process lets teachers analyze our current practice and find ways to perfect it."

"This experience made me a better teacher because I had to self-reflect on myself with my kids. I had to take a deep look at how to assess students to ensure progress.  I had to think like my students, really get inside and see school and academics from their eyes. It truly has made a huge impact on me personally and professionally."