Tennessee teachers earn national board certification

NASHVILLE, TN:  Sixty-four Tennessee teachers have recently earned National Board Certification, a stringent, voluntary certification process administered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. With a more than 40 percent increase in the number of teachers who achieved certification over last year, to date 404 Tennessee teachers have met the National Board Certification requirements which can take between one and three years to complete.

“In today’s education climate, it is more important than ever that we have teachers who are committed and passionate about their work,” Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. “As we increased standards this year with the Tennessee Diploma Project we will look to these teachers to be leaders in their classrooms, schools and communities.”

Candidates undergo a 10-part evaluation process specific to the teacher’s discipline, including performance assessments of teaching strategies and written exercises to assess subject knowledge. To be eligible, a teacher must be a college graduate with a professional teaching license and have at least three years experience in the classroom.

Tennessee ranks among the top 25 states nationwide in the number of teachers achieving board certification this year.