HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 11, 2019) – The most nationally respected professional certification available in K-12 education, National Board Certification is an optional intensive certification process with extremely high standards for teachers. This winter, Henderson County Public Schools are celebrating 12 educators who have earned the credential from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and joined their esteemed peers in the district.
Annah Lord, Amanda Parks, Bridget Grant, Alison Thompson, Heather Godfrey, Katie McCrary, Maggie McDade, Carly Allman, Natalie Pierce, Lucy Joyce, Anne Boyette, and Patricia Seward are 12 of the 557 North Carolina teachers to have earned their certifications in December 2018.
As a part of the certification process, candidates build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes, and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. The rigorous performance-based assessment typically takes one to three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers and counselors should know and be able to do.
Henderson County Public Schools offers quality, local support and peer mentorship for its teachers seeking National Board Certification.
“We realized how many of our teachers were driving to Asheville for the regional National Board support offered on weekends, and we sought grant funds to initiate a local cohort of candidates,” said Dr. Jan King, HCPS Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction.
“When the grant ended last year, our Board of Education supported the idea of continuing to offer Saturday sessions within the district. We were able to partner with the same facilitator used regionally, and that has been very successful,” King said. “An additional benefit of having the weekend sessions here in town has been the availability of volunteer mentors from within our own ranks.”
With nearly 22,000 teachers in the state with the certification, North Carolina leads the nation in having the most teachers with the credential, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Nationally certified teachers also account for a larger percentage of the total teaching force in North Carolina than any other state, with 22 percent having earned the credential, according to NCDPI. Currently in HCPS, 191 teachers are National Board Certified.
Joining their ranks this winter are the following educators:
From Dana Elementary, English as Second Language (ESL) teacher Annah Lord and Exceptional Children teacher Amanda Parks have spent their entire teaching careers at Dana – 8 years for Annah, and 11 for Amanda; Exceptional Children teacher Bridget Grant is in her 8th year of teaching, and has spent 3 years at Dana; kindergarten teacher Alison Thompson has spent the last 11 of her 17 years teaching at Dana.
At Rugby Middle, physical education teacher Heather Godfrey has taught a total of 16 years, and has spent all 6 years she’s been with HCPS at Rugby; 7th grade teacher Katie McCrary has spent all 6 of her teaching years at Rugby. From East Henderson High, mathematics teacher Maggie McDade has taught a total of 16 years, and spent 3 at East; science teacher Carly Allman has spent all 10 of her years teaching at East.
From Henderson County Early College, English teacher Natalie Pierce is in her 12th year of teaching and has been at Early College for 10 years – since its beginning. At North Henderson High, social studies teacher Lucy Joyce is in her 7th year of teaching, having spent the last 4 at North.
From Hendersonville Middle, Honors language arts and AIG teacher Anne Boyette has spent her entire 20-year career teaching for HCPS, with the last 5 years at Hendersonville Middle. At Hendersonville High, Patricia Seward has been a science teacher for 20 years, and is completing her 8th year of teaching at Hendersonville High.
The new National Board Certified Teachers will be recognized Monday, Jan. 14, at the Henderson County Board of Public Education public meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m. The board room is located at 414 4th Avenue West in Hendersonville.
###
