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150 County Teachers Earn National Board Certification

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By MARILYN BROWN

mbrown@tampatrib.com

Published: December 9, 2008

TAMPA - Florida leads all states again this year in adding National Board-certified teachers - 1,826 - to its ranks and remains second overall nationally.

More than 12,600 teachers, or 7.8 percent of the state's teaching force, have been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Arlington, Va. Getting certified requires teachers to take a series of tests and submit a portfolio with videotaped classroom lessons. The process takes one to three years, and fewer than half of those who apply make it.

National Board certification generally indicates good teaching. A study done in June by the National Research Council found that students taught by board-certified teachers make greater gains on achievement tests.

The certification process can be a chance for teachers to improve.

"I learned the most from watching myself and the kids reacting to my teaching," said Jennifer Cogan, a fourth-grade math and science teacher at Tampa's Pride Elementary whose name was among those announced by the National Board today.

After 11 years of teaching, the certification process helped Cogan grow. She devised a system to give every child equal say in group discussions and continues to revise her lessons based on what she learned in the year she spent preparing her portfolio.

"You learn from the questions they ask you, how in depth you have to go."

Cogan is one of 150 Hillsborough County teachers on today's National Board list, giving Hillsborough schools 787 certified teachers - 766 in the classroom. Pasco added 32 teachers, giving it 153 total; Pinellas added 63, for a total of 448; and Polk County added 26 teachers, giving it 345 overall.

Florida has been a leader in the national program since 1999, when it started offering bonuses to board-certified teachers. North Carolina, the first state to offer extra money, has the most board-certified teachers with 14,211, compared with Florida's 12,670.

The economy is intruding, though. Florida legislators reduced funding for the program this year, cutting payment of application fees and likely dropping the mentoring bonus, which has been equal to the state bonus.

Teachers say they will keep mentoring.

"It's only fair to pay it back," said Rewa Chisholm, a fifth-grade teacher at Robles Elementary who holds a doctorate and just earned national board certification.

Keyword: National Board, to search for teachers at your child's school.

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