Charles County's latest teachers with National Board Certifications. From left: Aparna Joshi, Julie Verras, and Michele King. (Submitted photos)
LA PLATA, Md. (March 07, 2010) --Three Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teachers recently joined the ranks of accomplished teachers nationwide by earning National Board Certification.
Aparna Joshi, Michele King and Julie Verras each completed a year-long performance-based assessment series to become 2009 Nationally Board Certified Teachers, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
Joshi is an education teacher at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School and earned a generalist/middle childhood certificate; King is a fifth-grade teacher at William B. Wade Elementary School and earned a generalist/middle childhood certificate; and Verras is a third-grade teacher at Mary B. Neal Elementary School and earned a reading-language arts/early and middle childhood certificate.
Nationally Board Certified Teachers must complete an extensive review of their skills and work, which includes teacher portfolios, student work samples, videotapes, and thorough analysis of the candidates’ classroom teaching and student learning. Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge and their understanding of how to teach that material to students.
The three CCPS teachers join 8,900 teachers nationwide, and 305 in Maryland who achieved National Board Certification in 2009. Certification is valid for 10 years, after which a teacher may seek renewal. Charles County Public Schools has 22 nationally certified teachers.
By achieving National Board Certification, the Charles County teachers are eligible for a $2,500 stipend added to their annual salary as well as an annual $1,000 incentive from the Maryland State Department of Education as long as they remain in the classroom and maintain their National Board Certification.
Only teachers with a standard or advanced professional certificate who have a minimum of three years successful teaching experience are eligible to apply for National Board Certification.
More information about NBPTS can be found at the NBPTS Web site at www.nbpts.org.
Source: Charles County Public School System