Dr. Heather Donaldson
Chief Academic Officer
Madison City Schools
In December, the National Board released the list of new National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT). Madison City Schools (MCS) had 11 teachers attain National Board Certification. This has raised our total number of National Board Certified Teachers within the district to 100. In addition to these newly certified teachers, MCS had 21 teachers recertify.
Congratulations to our new NBCTs and those who recertified: Stacy Branson, Kristen Brown, Amy Carter, Neil Clement, Heather Courtney, Megan Gowan, Amber Moore, Sarah Pepper, Jamie Ratcliffe, Jeanne Simpson, Kristen Steele, Amy Stoker, Marissa Weir, Molly Wright, Sarah Baragona, Nicole Coker, Kylie Dunkerley, Rachel Gibbs, Sharon Harris, Lisa Kiss, Megan Kuenzli, Amber McMillian, Amber Merrill, Alicia Mulloy, Noel Newquist, Patrice O’Donnell, Amy Patel, Jessica Pinegar, Jackie Smith, Natalie Smoak, Lisa Snyder, Tosha Swearingen, Teresa Tarter, Liz Vaughn, and Becca Wilson.
More than a decade of research from across the country demonstrates the positive impact that National Board Certified Teachers have on student achievement. Studies show that students taught by Board-Certified teachers gain an extra 1-2 months of learning each school year, and the positive impact of having a Board-Certified teacher is even greater for minority and low-income students.
Why is that? Because the National Board Certification process propels teachers to move through rigorous professional analysis, reflection, and intentionality with regard to their instructional practices.
As a district, we recognize the value of National Board Certification, and in the spring of 2015, we committed to providing more support to help teachers through this process. At that time, our records showed that we had around 21 National Board Certified teachers. Since the spring of 2015, we have been blessed to contract with retired MCS educators Jeanne Welt and Cindy Davis to help facilitate this process and mentor teachers pursuing National Board Certification.
When we started in 2015, MCS was unable to provide monetary support to teachers pursuing National Board Certification, but we were able to provide mentors and a support network. We are excited that over the past few years, we have been able to provide monetary support through DODEA Grants, the Committee of 100, and The Schools Foundation. We are grateful for their support.
We would like to extend a very special thank you to Cindy Davis and all of our mentors. Every candidate has a mentor who works with them as they pursue Board Certification. This group of mentors works extremely hard to support our teachers; they are currently supporting 51 teachers this year who are on their journey toward National Board Certification.
We are so proud of our teachers for their hard work and the tremendous impact they are making in the lives of our students every day.