Local teacher earns accolades

Photo by: Special to Neighbors

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Patricia Manning, a first grade teacher at Watson Elementary School in Austintown, achieved National Board Certification in 2009.

By ASHLEY LUTHERN

aluthern@vindy.com

A 20-year veteran teacher has voluntarily gone above her job description.

Patricia Manning, a first grade teacher at Watson Elementary School in Austintown, achieved National Board Certification in 2009. The certification process is a voluntary assessment program that aims to develop and recognize accomplished teachers and it usually takes one to three years to complete.

“Basically, National Certification means that you are certified to teach in every state,” Manning said. “It’s like doing your Master’s degree in three months time.”

Manning had to compile a portfolio of her teaching methods, which included videotaping her classroom activities, and then take a four-hour long test.

“It’s a long process, but it’s a lot of reflecting on your own teaching and you really investigate what you do in the classroom,” Manning said. “You especially look at diagnosing any problems kids have and trying to find solutions for them because there’s no one-size-fits-all approach in teaching.”

Manning has taught at Watson Elementary for three years and has been an educator for 20 years, witnessing many changes in the profession in that time.

“National Board teachers do get involved with policies and look at how we can reform education,” she said. “We do have problems in education and it’s not the way it was when I started teaching. How do we keep up with it and stay with the times and meet the needs of children, especially in this economy when maybe half the parents of kids in a class are out of work.”

Manning’s accomplishment also shines the spotlight on Watson Elementary and the Austintown School District, which now has eight teachers who have achieved National Board Certification.

“Walking into (Manning’s) classroom reinforces all the best teaching strategies we want for our students. I’m very proud of Patty,” said Watson Elementary Principal James Carchedi.

Currently, 82,000 teachers nationwide have achieved National Board Certification, but being part of this group isn’t what makes Manning most proud.

“My children are everything to me,” she said. “I’m very passionate about what I do, it’s not a job to me.”