Dillon District Four would like to recognize its two newest national board certified teachers: Jennifer Grainger and Dorothy Johnson.
This is the highest credential available to American educators. They bring Dillon District Four’s total of national board certified teachers to twenty-two.
National Board Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment of a teacher’s pedagogical skills and content knowledge, and takes one to three years to complete. Upon completion newly certified teachers bring a wealth of knowledge back to the classroom.
A White House event in December heralded the newest class of 6,200 teachers earning National Board Certification bringing the nation’s total near 100,000. National Board Certification has become the “gold standard” for teaching excellence. “National Board Certification is synonymous with great teaching. While our nation is focused on the need for the highest quality teachers, board certification truly is the gold standard,” says Ronald Thorpe, president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
During the White House event celebrating the newest class of graduates Thorpe referred to two recent studies showing that more than half (55 percent) of all board certified teachers work in high-need schools (according to the National Center for Education Statistics) and to a National Research Council report that found students who were taught by board certified teachers show higher gains on achievement tests than those taught by other teachers.