Why We Invest in Board-Certified Teachers

A Superintendent's View

Michael N. Riley, superintendent of the Bellevue School District (Washington) talks about what he learned about National Board Certification—from a teacher.

Here is an excerpt from his column (The School Administrator, August 2007):

Shelly Ward became the first National Board Certified Teacher in Bellevue, Wash., in 2000, and the experience forged her into an assertive and convincing advocate. She made certain our professional community understood the philosophy and values as well as the requirements of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She dragged me and others to statewide events where certified teachers testified — with all its religious connotations, this is the appropriate word — and explained how our school district could both inspire and support teachers in the quest for certification.

Read more at  The School Administrator online.