The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has announced that 11 Putnam City teachers earned National Board Certification this year, one of the top distinctions for quality in teaching that a teacher may earn.
Teachers earning certification are:
• Gena Beeson, Putnam City North High School
• Jon Bielich, Putnam City High School
• Laura Bracklein, Western Oaks Elementary School
• Halcy Hall, Western Oaks Elementary School
• JoAnn Kopp, Putnam City North High School
• Rachel McDaniel, James L. Dennis Elementary School
• Bill Pearsall, Putnam City High School
• Kim Reeves, Lake Park Elementary School
• Shera Steinhoff, James L. Dennis Elementary School
• Randy Utt, James L. Dennis Elementary School
• Cindy Watson, James L. Dennis Elementary 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.
Putnam City now has had 69 teachers earn national board certification. Oklahoma, with 1,569 national board certified teachers, ranks seventh in the United States as far as the total number of teachers achieving certification.
"I am an alternatively certified math teacher and worked as an engineer before becoming a teacher nine years ago. When I started the certification process, I thought it would be interesting and somewhat educational. The process of certification exposed me to teaching philosophies that I had not thought about before. Reflection and student impact joined with improved planning are just part of what is stressed in becoming certified. As a result, the whole idea of what teaching is about has shifted for me. I believe the students benefit because I am much more aware of the need to have their buy-in in what we are doing in class and I conduct my lessons accordingly..
—Bill Pearsall
"The process of certifying for National Board gave me a standard by which I could systematically think about my classroom practice. The ability to self-assess my effectiveness in turn results in delivering better lesson plans in a more organized classroom environment. It brought home the importance of student impact as the focus of a teachers' responsibility to his/her students. The impact to my students will be in my ability to teach with a greater understanding of what it takes to be an effective educator."
—Jon Bielich
"The National Certification process provided a powerful opportunity for me to analyze and reflect on my teaching skills. I have a deeper understanding of research-proven best practices and how to match those practices with students' needs."
—Halcy Hall
"The National Board Certification process reminded me that student achievement is always my goal. It also made me realize that I need to reflect often on my teaching practices to make sure they meet the needs of my students."
—Laura Bracklein
"The comprehensive and rigorous National Board Certification process taught me to evaluate my units and individual lessons with the primary focus of achieving student impact. I can now use the tools and strategies that I developed within this year of self-evaluation to look at every lesson that I teach with new eyes. I am able to access strategies that I developed to reach all learners, address different learning styles, find multiple pathways to student learning, and to involve all students."
—Shera Steinhoff
"Going through the process of becoming a national board certified teacher has given me the best staff development a teacher can receive. This has really made me reflect and evaluate that what I was doing in the classroom was of value and would benefit kids and the learning process."
—Rachel McDaniel
"Going through the National Board Certification process was one of the most challenging yet rewarding and beneficial experiences I have had in teaching. Anyone who attempts to go through this process will be changed forever for the better. One thinks differently about how to have the greatest impact on his or her students. I have found that I collaborate more with other teachers to gain new insights and strategies to reach all students. I reflect more often about what I teach and why. By systematically planning my units and lessons, I bring in more resources I know will impact my students. I expect more from my students as well. It was amazing to see the gains my students made while going through this process with me."
—Cindy Watson
"National Board is a challenge you make with yourself. Teaching abilities are taken to a higher level, which in turn benefits the students."
—JoAnn Kopp