Total national board certifications for DPS continues to rise
November 20, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Brenda Jones, Assistant Superintendent
Human Resource Services, 560-2353
Total national board certifications for DPS continues to rise
DURHAM—Twenty-one Durham Public Schools teachers have been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), bringing the total number of teachers certified while serving in Durham Public Schools to 245.
The certification process is an extremely rigorous one in which teachers are asked to thoroughly assess their classroom performance. It includes submission of extensive portfolios, student work samples, and videotapes of applicant teachers’ classroom style. Exhaustive written exercises delving into the applicants’ knowledge of subject matter also are required, along with a final exam.
Achieving NBPTS certification can pay off literally as well as figuratively. North Carolina teachers receive a 12 percent salary bonus from the state along with their certification. The 21 certified teachers will be honored at a dinner hosted by Superintendent Carl Harris at Croasdaile Country Club on February 12.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and non-governmental agency whose mission is to establish high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; to develop and operate a national, voluntary certification system to assess and certify teachers who meet these standards; and, to advance related education reforms for the purpose of improving student learning in American schools.
“Being a good teacher alone is quite the commitment, but going through the daunting process of National Board certification signifies a unique passion for this wonderfully rewarding profession,” said Dr. Harris. “I am extremely proud of these professionals for achieving this lofty goal, for inspiring their fellow teachers to be the best they can be, and for the great things they do for their students each and every day.”
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Attached: 2007 Durham Public Schools National Board Certified Teachers
2007 Durham Public Schools National Board Certified Teachers
Monica Click, Southern High
Lynette Damon, EK Powe Elementary
Melissa Delargy, Lowe’s Grove Middle
Sophia Dorton, Southwest Elementary
Mary Foster, Southern High
Villa Gaddy, Forest View Elementary
Martha Gensemer-Ramirez, Forest View Elementary
Alexa Golf, Club Boulevard Elementary
Steven Haine, Northern High
Lara Hess, Club Boulevard Elementary
Jessica Lang, Creekside Elementary
Kelly Lynn Mulvey, Durham School of the Arts
Kate MacDonell, Bethesda Elementary
Katie Neely, Mangum Elementary
Erin Pattishall, Club Boulevard Elementary
Alice Sommers, Hillandale Elementary
Andrew Tauber, Mangum Elementary
Sonya Terry, DPS Hospital High
Henrietta Vasquez, Hillside High
Denise Zawada, Burton Elementary
Laura Zwickl, Creekside Elementary

