A record 11 teachers from Snohomish County this year received national certification, an introspective yearlong process many say is as challenging as it is rewarding.
They were among 131 teachers in the state to earn the distinction from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
Certification by the national board takes several hundred hours of work over the course of a school year, including videotaping and analyzing classroom instruction. Teachers submit a portfolio of work and take tests online under a tight deadline.
Of the more than 60,000 teachers in the state, 344 now hold certification.
Nationally, fewer than half the applicants win certification. This year, the pass rate in Washington was 56 percent compared to 39 percent nationally.
"The standards … are extremely high," said Terry Bergeson, the state superintendent of public instruction.
For Alice Smithson, an Arlington High School English teacher who has been an instructor for 18 years, watching 30 hours of videotape of herself teaching was difficult. It reminded her of the importance of not just assessing her students work but also her own.
"It makes you really sit down and say, ‘What am I doing and why am I doing it?" she said. "It makes you review everything that happens in your classroom."
Ann Morgan, an art teacher at Cascade High School in Everett, also earned her national certification.
Morgan, who has been teaching for 13 years, agreed that the project forces teachers to spend more time analyzing what they do.
"For the vast majority of teachers, the best part of it is the reflection time," she said. "You don’t always get to do that … You are in front of your audience all day long and you have to fit everything else into the remaining (time)."
Jack McLeod, who splits his time between Cascade where he is a science teacher and the district office where he helps coordinate the district’s science curriculum, said the national certification is hard work.
"There is no guarantee at all and there is a huge outlay" of emotion, time and, for many teachers, money, he said.
"The process requires you to take a strong look at what you’re doing in the classroom, how you work with students, what kind of work the students are doing — so that you understand if they are learning what they’re supposed to be learning," McLeod said.
Some teachers received financial help from the Washington Initiative for National Board Teacher Certification. Washington Mutual, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Stuart Foundation provided $4 million to help pay for scholarships, mentoring and chances for teachers to connect with peers seeking the certification.
The certification lasts for 10 years and provides a $3,500 annual stipend, which is subject to approval by the Legislature.
The Edmonds School District had five teachers earn the certification. They were Deborah Baker Jacobson of Meadowdale Middle School, Joyce Bonney of Lynnwood Intermediate, Cristy Glick Diefendorf of Edmonds Elementary, Susan Schultz of Oak Heights Elementary and Fauna Woolfe Sigman of Cedar Valley Community School.
Others from the county were Pamela Duncan of Chain Lake elementary in Monroe, Cindy Foster from Granite Falls Middle School and Debra Strong from the Everett School District.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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