Teachers get incentive for national certification

Some school districts provide more money for teachers with the certification.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The state is taking a more active role in promoting a national teacher certification program by administering a federal subsidy that helps pay for the application fee, Education Secretary Vicki Phillips said Monday.
The certification offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, an independent, nonprofit group, is voluntary and intended to provide an advanced level of certification for experienced teachers who are already state-certified.
Since 1997, the board has provided federal financial assistance for up to half the cost of a $2,300 application fee, and most states have administered the federal aid through their state education departments.
Assumed responsibility
But in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators took on that responsibility in 1998.
Then-Education Secretary Eugene Hickok, who served under Gov. Tom Ridge, "did not hold national board certification in very high regard" because he thought the process focused too much on teaching methods, rather than subject knowledge, said Jim Flynn, the association's executive director.
Phillips, however, said the national certification enables teachers to attain a level of distinction by completing a rigorous one- to three-year certification process. Teachers must pass a number of tests on subject knowledge and teaching practice, and they must also submit portfolios that include videotapes of their classroom activities and student work samples.
She cited several school districts that provide salary increases or bonuses as incentives for obtaining the national certification, such as Central Bucks in Bucks County, East Pennsboro in Cumberland County and the Lancaster School District.
Pennsylvania will begin administering the program in the fall.
Who is eligible
Teachers who have bachelor's degrees, have been state-certified for at least three years, and have taught in a public or private school for at least three years are eligible to apply. The national board certificate is valid for 10 years.
Of more than 32,000 teachers who have achieved national board certification nationwide, 126 are in Pennsylvania, according to national board statistics. North Carolina has the highest number of nationally certified teachers -- more than 6,600 -- followed by Florida, with more than 4,900, and South Carolina, with more than 3,200.
Pennsylvania's national board-certified teachers include Candace Morgan, a special-education teacher at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh. Morgan called the certification process "the best professional development experience I've had in my teaching career."
"National board certification requires that you develop a clear understanding of yourself as a teacher -- what you do well and what you need to improve," Morgan said.
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