The Arizona Department of Education strongly supports teachers who are seeking National Board Certification.
Overview
National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to identify, recognize and reward highly accomplished teachers and school counselors who meet the rigorous standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for what teachers should know and be able to do.
National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential. It compliments, but does not replace, a state’s teacher license. It is valid for 10 years, after which National Board Certified Teachers can seek certification renewal.
Process
To pursue National Board Certification a teacher must hold a baccalaureate degree and have three years of teaching experience in early childhood, elementary, middle or secondary schools prior to submitting an application. In addition, a teacher must hold a valid Arizona teaching license.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offers 24 certificates that cover a variety of subject areas and student developmental levels.
National Board Certification candidates complete four portfolio entries featuring teaching practices and six response exercises that assess content knowledge.
The portfolio of classroom practice consists of four entries:
- One classroom-based entry with accompanying student work
- Two classroom-based entries that require video recordings of interactions between you and your students
- One documented accomplishments entry that provides evidence of your accomplishments outside of the classroom and how that work impacts student learning
Each entry requires some direct evidence of teaching or school counseling as well as a commentary describing, analyzing and reflecting on this evidence.
The online assessment portion of the National Board Certification process asks you to demonstrate your content knowledge in response to six exercises developed and designed by practicing professionals in your certificate area. You will have up to 30 minutes to respond to each of the exercises.
Support
The Arizona Department of Education in partnership with the Arizona K-12 Center, the Arizona Education Association and Arizona State University provides support to candidates in a variety of ways. Information is available to parents, administrators, school board members and the business community to show the benefits of having National Board Certified Teachers in their schools. Please contact us for further information about how this information can be presented.
The Arizona Department of Education coordinates the NBPTS Candidate Subsidy Program by providing fee support for up to half of the fees for candidates seeking certification. We work to provide funding to all teachers within the state and awards are made through a competitive application process.
- National Board Funding Application
- National Board Advanced Candidate Funding Application
Links
News
Contact Information
Academic Achievement Division
Arizona Department of Education
1535 West Jefferson Street, Bin 45
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Beth Driscoll, NBCT
Email: beth.driscoll@azed.gov
Phone: 602-364-2191
Fax: 602-542-1141
