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Certified Teachers Are Top Of The Class

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 10, 2007

Florida usually doesn't end up at the top of any matrix measuring public education, but it recently scored big in a key measurement: the number of teachers who have earned a certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

This is no small achievement. Becoming a board-certified teacher is a year-long, grueling process that requires teachers to build extensive portfolios of their work, submit videotapes of them teaching class and pass a rigorous series of assessments.

Florida has been wise in encouraging teachers to earn certification. It rewards those who do with a $9,000 annual bonus.

Hillsborough County takes the program one step forward, offering salary incentives of another $4,500 for board-certified teachers who will teach in the county's poorest and worst performing schools.

Hillsborough ranks third in the state in the number of board-certified teachers with 134, behind Broward and Miami-Dade.

There are still challenges. Only one out of every 10 board certified-instructors teaches math or science. Florida also needs to make sure it this valuable program is continued even in the face of budget shortfalls.

Time and again, studies have shown that quality teachers are essential to effective education.

Florida's board-certified teachers may earn some extra dollars, but it's their students who reap the real rewards.

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