A local nonprofit is doing its part to ensure one local school district has qualified educators.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation is working with Española School District administrators to ensure the District has well-qualified educators by paying for several teachers to obtain their National Board Certification.
The Certification is offered by National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Certification, a nonprofit created by educators to help create accomplished teachers. It is considered by many, the top teaching credential in the country and is accepted nationwide.
To earn the certification, educators must demonstrate their teaching competency through four components, which includes a test of the content area the educator teaches.
The candidates will also have to submit a portfolio to illustrate that they are capable of delivering instruction in a variety of teaching methods, to accommodate different learning styles, interacting with students in a positive learning environment and reflecting on their profession in a way that facilitates growth.
Los Niños Kindergarten Center Principal LaDonna Phillips is one of the 10 District educators who will participate in the program.
She is appreciative of the Foundation’s support and believes it was an offer she couldn’t refuse.
The certification costs $1,975 per participant, but all Phillips and the other candidates will have to pay is the $75 registration fee.
“It can be very costly and it is a great opportunity that I think employees in the District should take advantage of,” she said.
Phillips said she understands what she is getting into — the program is challenging and will require the candidates to spend long hours completing the required tasks, in addition to their everyday duties.
“It is a lot of work, but I think it will pay off in the long run,” she said.
Before Phillips started serving as one of the District’s principals, at the onset of the 2016-17 School Year, she served as a school counselor and a classroom teacher throughout the District. She said earning the certification will bring her training full-circle.
“I think when you are an educator, the more hats you wear, the better equipped you are for meeting students’ needs,” she said.
Foundation K-12 Program Director Gwen Perea Warniment said her organization allocated $22,000 to the project, to help strengthen the educational process throughout the District. The funds will cover the certification costs for 10 candidates. It will also cover registration fees for the various classes and workshops the applicants will attend throughout their candidacy.
“The LANL Foundation, and myself, in particular, as the K-12 program director, appreciates and fully supports (Española)Superintendent (Bobbie) Gutierrez’s focus on improving teaching and learning for EPS (Española Public Schools),” she said. “We are deeply committed to this school district.”
She said the certification is an involved process that prompts educators to review their classroom practices in a manner that will lead to better and more efficient teaching.
The program is also a good opportunity for educators to upgrade their licenses, while improving the school’s overall outlook.
The Foundation decided upon the initiative, after Warniment and Gutierrez met with teachers, some time in mid-September, to get input on ways the Foundation could support the District.
“The process to get board certified as a teacher is rigorous and encourages deep reflection about instructional practice,” Warniment said. “It affords teachers the opportunity to rise from Tier II to Tier III. It also is a wonderful grassroots approach to creating master teachers spread throughout the District that might mentor and encourage other educators.”
New Mexico Tier II teachers who complete the certification will automatically get bumped up to Tier III and receive an approximate $15,000 raise.
Candidates will have three years to complete the process and to make up any units they fail.
Gutierrez notes that teachers who don’t pass the first time, will have to pay the cost to re-do that part of the portfolio.
National Boards Policy and Partnership Director and former New Mexico elementary school teacher Michelle Accardi said the program doesn’t offer an administrative certification. This means those administrators will have to enter the program through the teacher track.
She said it is a good idea for administrators to go through the program because it helps set a tone for a district or school.
“What we found out on the national level, is it really helps to create an environment within the school that elevates the practice of teaching across the board,” Accardi said. “You know that the administrator who is evaluating you meets the highest standards in the country and really understands accomplished teaching.”
Her organization offers certification in 24 different content areas, so teachers can obtain the national credentials for just about any subject, except Latin.