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Teachers Earning Certification Push State To Head Of Class

JIM REED / The Tampa Tribune

"It's all your own work," Witter Elementary science teacher Jennifer Whalen says of the certification she won Tuesday.

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By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

TAMPA - For the first time since the program began, Florida topped all states in the annual number of teachers who earned national board teacher certification. The state retained its second place in cumulative numbers nationwide.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards said Hillsborough has 134 new teachers who earned the certification, third highest in the nation behind Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Hillsborough also saw a leap in numbers of teachers in its highest poverty schools.

The rising state and local numbers were part of the largest one-year gain in the history of the national board, which started awarding certifications in 1994-95. The organization promotes a national standard of teaching knowledge, skills and practices mainly by requiring teachers to submit portfolios and videotapes of their work. More than half the teachers who applied this year failed to earn the certification.

"Florida is kind of out in the lead in terms of numbers," Joseph A. Aguerrebere, president and chief executive officer for the board said Tuesday. "Every other state will be looking at Florida if they want to grow the numbers and build the capacity.

"Florida will eventually pass North Carolina," he predicted.

Harder Than Master's Degree

The assessment of teachers, which can take up to three years to successfully complete, includes continuous self-evaluation and is considered by some to be tougher than earning a master's degree.

"It was much harder, I would say," said Jennifer Whalen, a fifth-grade science teacher at Tampa's Witter Elementary School. She has taught for a decade, holds two master's degrees and moved to Florida three years ago from New York.

A master's degree reflects theory, while the national board certification reflects reality, teachers say.

"You're working with the child in the classroom," Whalen said. "You set your own pace, in your own school. There's no instructor - plenty of mentors, but no instructor. It's all your own work."

Florida's generous bonus program for national board teachers that can add up to $8,540 a year in extra pay as well as paying most application fees is a key reason the numbers are growing, Aguerrebere said.

The certification pays off particularly in a high-poverty school such as Witter.

Since 1999, Florida's national board teachers have each received an annual bonus from the state equal to 10 percent of the previous year's statewide average teacher's salary.

This year that bonus is $4,270, plus $747 for retirement and payroll taxes. The bonus doubles if the teacher also mentors other teachers.

Bonuses Help Recruit

To attract national board-certified teachers to its schools with the highest amount of students from poor families, in 2004 Hillsborough added an additional $4,500 annual bonus for certified teachers in those schools. That first year there were just 11 certified teachers in those highest poverty schools. This year there are at least 69.

The $4,500 bonus is on top of another 5 percent to 10 percent district bonus most teachers in those highest poverty schools also earn.

"It's a great recruiting and retention tool," said Witter's principal, Anna Brown. Her school now has five certified teachers with six more working on the designation.

"I can say, 'I've been there,'" said Brown, who earned her national board certification in 1999 while a teacher. The certification is good for 10 years. The bonus continues unless a teacher leaves the classroom, an incentive to keep top teachers with students.

"I, myself, took a pay cut to become an assistant principal," said Brown. She encourages teachers to earn the certification, but notes, "It takes a quality teacher with strong self-confidence to go through the process in the first place."

What she sees from them in the classroom is "more confidence in their personal ability and a greater appreciation for their impact as a teacher."

Once a few teachers earn the certification, it inspires others, principals said.

"It's almost like a snowball effect," said Roy Moral, principal at Wimauma Elementary, another of the highest poverty schools. The school has five certified teachers, "a bunch in the waiting," and "another 25 or 30 of them" that could be, Moral said. "It's just a very rigorous process."

Lecia Fahie, who just earned her national board certification at Witter, advises others: "Find the best mentor possible and keep at it, even though you may feel you like giving up."

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

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