Seven Lake Washington School District teachers, including two in Kirkland, have achieved National Board Certification, as announced by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
The two teachers from Kirkland are Danielle Frost at Peter Kirk Elementary in Generalist/Early Childhood and Judy Rhodes at Frost Elementary in Reading-Language Arts/Early and Middle Childhood.
In addition to the seven newly certified teachers, three teachers renewed their certification this year. That makes a total of 10 teachers completing the process. (Certifications must be renewed every ten years.) Teachers from around the district completed the process, including a district-high two teachers from Eastlake High School.
According to NBPTS, 270 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) working in Lake Washington Schools have earned their certification. National Board certification is considered the highest professional credential a teacher can obtain.
“Lake Washington School District seeks to hire and retain highly effective teachers,” noted Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent. “We are pleased to have so many teachers commit and re-commit themselves to excellence. The National Board Certification process helps teachers ensure maximum academic success for students by analyzing every area of their teaching practice.”
The National Board certification takes teachers through a demanding process. It typically takes more than a year to complete. It requires teachers to demonstrate how their work improves student achievement. As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Teachers also are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.
Numbers released by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards show that for the third year in a row, the state of Washington is first in the total number of new NBCTs (329). That number maintains the state’s ranking as fourth overall in the number of national board certified teachers in the country at 8,614.
Across the country, fewer teachers were certified this year because the National Board started transitioning to a new certification process in 2014. Because it can take up to three years to earn certification, the NBCTs announced this year have been using the process in place prior to 2014.
