Board Seeks Help in Updating National Standards

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) will soon begin updating the standards that establish what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do in several fields and it's looking for outstanding practicing teachers to help.

Nominations are now being accepted for members to serve on standards committees for the following areas:

• World Languages Other than English/Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood 
• World Languages Other than English/Early and Middle Childhood
• Early Adolescence/Math
• Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Math

Nominations for these committees can be sent by email to Mary Lease of the National Board. The deadline for submitting nominees is Jan. 31, 2008.

The now widely respected NBPTS standards are developed by a committee of outstanding educators who are broadly representative of accomplished professionals in their field. While the majority of each committee is made up of classroom teachers, other members may include experts in child development, teacher education and relevant disciplines. The committee provides recommendations to the National Board and advises those involved in developing the corresponding assessment.

Detailed information on what the National Board's standards are and how they are developed and maintained is available here on the NBPTS Web site.

Standards Committee Membership Duties:

• Committees are charged with the responsibility to evaluate the existing standards to determine whether the standards document offers an up-to-date representation of accomplished teaching in the field and what, if any, revision is warranted.
• The majority of the 8-12 member committees must be classroom teachers who spend at least half of their time working with students in the appropriate discipline and developmental level.
• Remaining members may be other educators with expertise in the teaching field, such as district and state staff developers and curriculum specialists, and college and university professors of education.
• Committees will reflect the nation's regional and ethnic diversity as well as the range of teaching contexts and professional views that exist about what constitutes accomplished teaching.
• Committees will meet for several weekend days in Washington, D.C. (travel, lodging, meals and an honorarium provided). There could be up to five meetings during the course of a year.
• Members will take part in online discussion boards between meetings to continue the work of updating the standards (stipend provided).
• The committee will respond to public comments on the committee's draft which will be released for that purpose prior to final approval by the NBPTS Board of Directors.

Committee Member Qualifications:

• Outstanding educator
• Comprehensive knowledge of subject matter
• Extensive knowledge and practical expertise of good teaching
• Current knowledge of research and of national, state, and local standards in the field
  Able to articulate the view of peers
• Positively impacts professional community
• Able to collaborate with others in both face-to-face and online environments.