THE TEACHER AS STUDENT

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a leader in professional development and academic excellence. The District recently had the distinction of having more than 200 of its educators achieve National Board Certification. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards determined that these individuals had successfully demonstrated that they meet the rigorous standards of accomplished teaching. M-DCPS currently has 1,285 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). There are nearly 74,000 National Board Certified educators nationwide.

“We are proud that Miami-Dade is recognized as the district with the third greatest number of NBCTs in the entire United States," said M-DCPS Professional Development, and Educational Services and Curriculum and Instruction Assistant Superintendent Ms. Ava Byrne.  "We are also extremely proud of all of the M-DCPS teachers who have elected to participate in the rigorous National Board Certification process, and we especially wish to congratulate all of the newest National Board Certified Teachers.”

To achieve National Board Certification, each teacher must complete a comprehensive year-long assessment process that includes a four-part portfolio including classroom videotapes; samples of student work; and documentation of the teacher’s leadership, collaboration, and on-going professional learning accompanied by descriptive, analytical, and reflective commentary. The teacher must also successfully demonstrate advanced content area knowledge on a six-part computer-based essay test.

In some cases, teachers repeat portions of the assessment process during the subsequent year or two years. This allows for teachers to self-assess areas of needed improvement and focus their professional development on these areas in order to reach the certification level.

Florida is ranked first in the country in the number of new NBCTs for the second year in a row.