Hundreds of Washington-area teachers earned National Board Certification this year, adding to the area’s domination over other districts in Virginia and Maryland. This year, 71 teachers in Montgomery County achieved the certification, a result of up to three years of voluntary assessment scored on a teacher’s content knowledge, classroom videotapes, and narratives on their teaching philosophies. Montgomery’s 634 total teachers who have received the recognition places the district first in the state — more than double runner-up Anne Arundel’s 273 — and 12th in the nation.
Prince George’s came in third for Maryland with 267 board-certified teachers, including 76 new this year.
Maryland added 302
board-certified teachers in 2010, the seventh-highest growth in the country, and tying last year’s record.
“National Board Certificated teachers have reached the pinnacle of their profession,” said State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. “These teachers have gone through a rigorous program, proving their commitment to their students, their classrooms and their schools.”
A study by the independent National Research Council found that students taught by board-certified teachers make higher gains on exams than students taught by other teachers.
Of Virginia’s 184 newly certified teachers, 23 came from Fairfax, 21 from Prince William, and eight from Arlington County public schools — the top three in the state for National Board Certified teachers, respectively.
Schools spokeswoman Mary Shaw said Fairfax’s 384 recognized teachers “usually [seek certification] on their own volition.”
“They’re really concerned with being the most professional teachers they can be,” Shaw said.
One D.C. Public Schools teacher earned the certification, bringing the school system’s total to 50. No new charter school teachers received the certification.
Wil Parker, regional outreach director for the independent, nonprofit National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, said no particular quality except the Washington area’s size accounted for the large clusters. “That’s because there are lots of teachers,” he said.
About 40 percent of applicants achieve certification within one year and 65 percent within three years, Parker said.
Nationwide, 8,600 more teachers gained National Board Certification, bringing the total number to more than 91,000. Half of these educators work in Title I schools, considered the poorest schools with highest need. Three of the last five “Teacher of the Year” honorees have achieved National Board Certification.
