"This is the best thing my union has ever done for me"
One of our core values is ensuring that every student has a caring, committed, qualified teacher. That means educators must have the resources and support to be the very best they can be.
National Board Certification, a voluntary, advanced teaching credential, is an important path to the high-quality experience that students deserve and the professional development teachers need.
In 1987, NEA was one of the founding organizations of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). We continue to be a strong supporter of certification for several reasons, not least of which is the growing body of research linking National Board Certification with improved student achievement.
The certification process is rigorous, but teachers who take on the challenge say it is a powerful experience that energizes them and makes them better at what they do.
NEA affiliates across the country are actively promoting National Board Certification. Many have pushed for and won legislation to pay fees and provide salary stipends to board-certified teachers, while others have bargained contract provisions for release time, fee payment, mentoring/assistance and salary recognition for candidates.
Our affiliates also are providing workshops for candidates, such as the “Jump Start” program, designed to demystify the certification process, delve into the standards and help our members understand the requirements for certification.
Jump Start originated in the state of Washington and it continues to be an important Association-led support for teachers pursuing National Board Certification. To learn more about it, take a look at this guest blog post from Tom White, a National Board Certified teacher:
“This is the best thing my union has ever done for me!”
Hearing that, you might guess a teacher just received a 10% raise, or perhaps a second planning period. What you’d never guess is that this teacher just finished a grueling four-day training, during the summer, in a high school classroom with no air conditioning.
What’s going on?
Jump Start, that’s what.
Jump Start is a three to four-day professional development designed to help teachers understand and prepare for "This is the best thing my union has ever done for me" - Lily's Blackboard: