Two Carson City school teachers earn national board certification, one renews

The Carson City School District is celebrating two new National Board Certified Teachers from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Recognition will come at Tuesday’s school board meeting. NBCT is widely considered to be the highest professional recognition for educators and includes a five percent pay increase in acknowledgement of accomplished teaching.

The teachers to be recognized earning certification are Christina Bourne, NBCT for Music in Early and Middle Childhood and Mark Twain Elementary School music teacher and; Debra Crozier, NBCT as a Generalist in Early Childhood. Additionally, Rachel Croft, STEM coach at Bordewich Bray Elementary, renewed her NBCT for Literacy: Reading-Language Arts in Early and Middle Childhood.

Carson City School District, Northwestern RPDP and the Nevada State Education Association have partnered together to encourage educators to be a part of the National Board Certification program. National Board Certification was developed by teachers to retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide.

“National Board certification requires a tremendous amount of work, dedication and years of classroom skill and expertise,” said Tasha Fuson, associate superintendent of Educational Services. “We are very proud of these wonderful educators and applaud them for their achievement.”

Each of these accomplished educators earned the profession’s highest mark of achievement through a rigorous process, demonstrating their proven impact on student learning and achievement. Debra Crozier, NBCT recommends the process to any teachers considering it.

“While pursuing National Board certification was the most demanding thing I have done in my teaching career, it was also the most rewarding and fulfilling,” she said.

These teachers join 12 other board certified teachers in the district: Lacey Carey, sixth-grade Social Studies teacher at Carson Middle School; Jenny Chandler, AP Government/AP Art History teacher and Social Studies department chair at Carson High School; Rachel Croft, STEM coach at Bordewich Bray Elementary; Jessica Daniels, principal of Carson Montessori School; Luonne Gerow, third grade GATE teacher at Fremont Elementary; Jeff Hendricks, special education teacher with Student Support Services; Leah Hampton, math teacher at Carson High School; Amy Jenson, fifth-grade teacher and GATE coordinator at Bordewich Bray Elementary; Nicolas Jacques, music and band teacher at Carson Middle School; Joanna Kaiser, GATE Implementation Specialist; Nicole Medeiros, third-grade teacher at Bordewich Bray Elementary and Pamela Shank, fourth-grade teacher at Fremont Elementary.

Superintendent Richard Stokes said it is also important to note that Carson City School District currently has a cohort of nine additional teachers who are pursuing board certification this coming year. Additionally, all elementary schools within the school district showed improvements in the latest Star Ratings report, according to the Nevada Department of Education. Mark Twain Elementary School was one of the biggest success stories, jumping to four-stars when they previously scored two-stars.

“Having engaged teachers who are life-long learners among the ranks of so many other amazing and qualified educators really improves the overall level of education our students receive day-in and day-out,” he said. “Tonight’s school board meeting will honor and celebrate all their individual dedication, hard work and compassion for the teaching profession.”

Certification is a one-to-five-year process that includes taking an assessment and assembling three portfolios. According to the NBPTS, each of these accomplished educators earned the profession’s highest mark of achievement through a rigorous, performance-based, peer-review process, demonstrating their proven impact on student learning and achievement. Completing the certification shows that each teacher knows and practices “the definitive standards of accomplished teaching.”

“I decided to renew my National Board Certification because although it was the most grueling professional development I have ever experienced, it was also the most rewarding,” Croft said. “National Board Certification helped me to see myself as the driving force in my classroom. It empowered me to harness the power of learning about my students and create a community of learning.”

The Carson City teachers are among 906 National Board Certified educators in Nevada and nationwide, there are 122,000. In the next year, National Board is hoping to grow those numbers to over 150,000 educators. More than a decade of research from across the country confirms, students taught by Board-certified teachers are one to two months ahead of their peers taught by non-board-certified teachers. Christina Bourne, NBCT credits National Board Certification as one of the best professional development processes available.

“The process of achieving National Board Certification was rigorous and incredibly rewarding,” Bourne said. “It allowed me to analyze and reflect on my abilities as an educator while simultaneously providing the highest level of professional development available to help me refine my craft.”

The National Center for Education Statistics projected that more than 3.6 million teachers are employed in public and private elementary and secondary schools. Carson City teachers interested in pursuing board-certification are invited to contact Jaci McCune, jmccune@carson.k12.nv.us, 775-283-1796, or Candidate Service Providers Rachel Croft, rcroft@carson.k12.nv.us, and Jenny Chandler, jchandler@carson.k12.nv.us.