The National Board for Professional Teachers Standards announced in late November that nine Putnam City teachers earned National Board Certification, one of the top distinctions for quality in teaching.

Teachers earning certification were:

• Beth Bley, Overholser Elementary School
• Lori Bradley, Putnam City Academy
• Joel Illgen, Western Oaks Middle School
• Barbie Kitchens, Will Rogers Elementary School
• Ingrid May, Overholser Elementary School
• Sharon Morgan, Will Rogers Elementary School
• Debra Shirley, Windsor Hills Elementary School
• JoAnn Struck, Central Middle School
• Dolly Thomas, Western Oaks Middle School

National Board Certification is a voluntary process established by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. It is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete.

Through the assessment process, teachers document their subject matter knowledge, provide evidence that they know how to most effectively teach their subjects to students and demonstrate their ability to manage and measure student learning. Teachers who have become certified typically report that their teaching is more focused, reflective and confident, producing deeper student learning in classrooms.

Dr. Jim Capps, superintendent of Putnam City Schools, congratulated the new national board certified teachers.

"We’re proud of all our teachers for the excellent job they do educating our students. These teachers, in particular, are to be congratulated for choosing to take on an intense professional development experience. It’s a demanding but rewarding task,” says Capps.

Putnam City now has had 58 teachers earn national board certification.

“This process has helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and has also made me realize that I need to improve those areas of weaknesses. I believe this will make me a more effective teacher which will directly impact student learning.”

—Dolly Thomas

“The certification process was a very rigorous process of analyzing my teaching practices. It was very humbling to watch myself and see how my students respond as I teach. The process has made me much more aware of all the different types of learners in my music classroom. Now when I present a lesson to meet the needs of the students, they are always more successful. This process has also shown me that many of the things I already do in my classroom are very effective and improve student learning.”

—JoAnn Struck

“Becoming a National Board Certified teacher has made me a better teacher because I have learned to analyze and reflect on my teaching. By analyzing my teaching I have been better prepared to teach students to their individual needs. After teaching each concept I can reflect on what worked for some students and how I need to make modifications for other students.”

—Debra Shirley

“To be a National Board teacher I had to really reflect on the strengths and weaknesses in my teaching and find ways to improve upon them. Since going through the process, I have had better communication with parents. My lessons integrate many subject areas to help students make connections between what is being learned and the world around them. I now assess frequently and am better able to tailor instruction for student needs.”

—Sharon Morgan

“Going through the National Board process was grueling, but very rewarding. One of the lessons that really stood out from the rest was allowing my first graders to participate in inquiry science. We as teachers are so used to planning every little detail, but inquiry requires that students learn from their own discoveries. It was amazing how much they learned while working with each other with very little input from me.”

—Barbie Kitchens

"National Board Certification is a reflective process that explores student learning from several angles. I have a greater appreciation of student needs as they relate to learning styles and have become more creative and flexible in my search to connect student interests to band music. Students are interacting through multiple sensory activities and are being encouraged to become peer mentors. Greater verbal and kinesthetic performance feedback is occurring within the context of a large band classroom environment. Recognition of student input, inquiry, and performance has built student self esteem, self analysis, and a warm, healthy classroom environment for group learning."

—Joel Illgen

“This process made me examine what I taught, how I taught it, and why I taught it in that way. It stretched my thinking in so many ways. It helped me focus my teaching strategies to national and state standards. I am able to better analyze obstacles and tackle challenges. This experience has truly been an affirmation of my career choice.”

—Lori Bradley