Polk County Schools added seven National Board Certified teachers to its staff this year, including four at Polk County Middle School.
Asst. Supt. Dr. Mary Margaret Ingle informed the Polk school board that Polk County had a very high percentage of teachers receive the certification this year. All but two teachers who sought the certification were successful.
The school districts new National Board Certified teachers are: Kevin Beck, Dianne Holt, Sherry Smith and Brian Taylor of Polk County Middle School, Kelleigh Powell of Polk Central School, Laura Laughter of Polk County High School and Ginger Rackley of Saluda School.
Dr. Ingle added that two Polk teachers, Della Fyre of Polk County High School and Allison Hamrick of Tryon Elementary School, renewed their National Board certification this year.
Last year Polk County had just two teachers receive national board certification, bringing the total number of certified teachers in the district to 36.

N.C. number one in National Board Certified teachersState leads the nation for the 14th consecutive year

Governor Bev Perdue announced recently that North Carolina once again leads the nation in the total number of teachers who have earned certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards with 15,695 teachers now certified.
This group of teachers accounts for nearly 19 percent of all the 83,359 National Board Certified teachers in the nation. North Carolina also ranked first in the nation in the number of newly-certified teachers, as the state is home to 1,509 of the 8,874 educators nationwide who earned the recognition this year.
“National Board Certified teachers are essential to helping transform North Carolinas schools,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “Fifteen years ago our state saw its first group of teachers achieve National Board Certification. We continue to be the nations leader as nearly 16,000 have earned this hallmark distinction. Throughout the years, I have seen first-hand how these outstanding educators have changed the culture of teaching and learning in their classrooms and their schools. Most importantly, research shows that National Board Certified Teachers can be a valuable learning resource to all students, especially students who need them the most.”
Three North Carolina school districts are among the nations top 20 in terms of the number of teachers who achieved National Board Certification in 2009. They include: Charlotte-Mecklenburg 2nd (221), Wake County 3rd (197) and Guilford 9th (69).
Five North Carolina school districts are among the nations top 20 in terms of the number of teachers who achieved National Board Certification over time. They include: Wake County 2nd (1,702), Charlotte-Mecklenburg 5th (1,439), Guilford 11th (592), Forsyth 18th (413) and Buncombe 20th (371).
“National Board Certified teachers bring a high level of enthusiasm, experience and skills to the classroom that benefits not only their students, but also their fellow teachers,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson. “For that reason, North Carolina is committed to encouraging and supporting all those who seek this valuable certification.”
North Carolina supports teachers efforts to achieve National Board Certification in the following ways:
Payment up front of the $2,500 assessment fee. (Teachers are obligated to teach in the state the following year whether or not they achieve certification.)
Three paid release days from normal teacher responsibilities to develop their portfolios.
A 12 percent salary supplement to the teachers regular salary, good for the 10-year life of the certification.
15 continuing education units (CEUs) awarded to the individual for completing the National Board Certification process.
The State Board of Education awards a North Carolina teaching license to out-of-state teachers who possess National Board Certification.
“The certification process requires educators to complete hundreds of hours of work outside the classroom in which they reflect on their personal talents, instruction techniques and the subject they teach,” said State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison. “When teachers work this hard to build their skills and knowledge, our students reap many rewards from their efforts.”
Certification requires teachers to complete an extensive series of performance-based assessments to demonstrate not only how well the teachers know their subjects, but how well they teach them to students.
National Board Certification was first offered in 1994, when eight North Carolina teachers achieved this professional credential. Since then, the number of teachers in the state receiving the certification has continued to grow. North Carolina has led the nation in the number of National Board Certified teachers for 14 years. The other states in the top three this year are Florida, with 13,281 and South Carolina, with 7,293 certified teachers.
For more information on National Board Certification, go to www.nbpts.org. For more information about North Carolinas national board certified teachers, contact the NCDPIs Information and Communications division at 919.807.3450.
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