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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HONORS ITS MIAMI — Two hundred sixty-six Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) teachers will be honored at a luncheon on Saturday, Feb. 17 for their exemplary achievements in becoming National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards during 2005 and 2006. The event, which is themed National Board Certified Teachers are Lamplighters, will be held at the Radisson Hotel, 1601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Betty Castor, Executive Director of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions at the University of South Florida and past-president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, will serve as the keynote speaker. All 991 NBCTs currently employed by the district have been invited to attend the luncheon honoring the 2005 and 2006 NBCTs. Sponsorship funding to support the luncheon has been provided by The United Teachers of Dade, National Board of Certified Teachers of Miami-Dade, Inc., The Education Fund and UnitedHealthcare. To achieve National Board Certification, each teacher must complete a year-long assessment process that includes a four-part portfolio with 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 his or her 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 on professional development in these areas. Racial and ethnic minority teachers comprise 74.8 percent of the 2006 NBCT cohort. This represents an increase in the percentage of minority teachers that applied for and earned National Board Certification, up from 63 percent in November 2005. Five School Improvement Zone teachers achieved National Board Certification during December 2006, bringing to 35 the total number of NBCTs working in Zone schools. Through the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program, the State of Florida supports first time National Board Candidates by paying 90 percent of the $2,500 fee for the process. The DHETP also provides Annual Salary bonuses to NBCTs that remain in the classroom. The Annual Salary bonus is calculated at 10 percent of the average teacher salary in the state. In 2006-2007, the amount of this bonus is $4, 270.70. NBCTs may opt to earn an additional bonus for providing and documenting the equivalent of 12 work days (90 hours) of mentoring service to other teachers. The mentoring bonus is the same amount as the annual bonus. These bonuses are available yearly for the 10-year life of the teacher’s National Board Certificate, subject to yearly funding by the legislature. In addition to these state-funded bonuses, M-DCPS offers its teachers an incentive of a one-time $7,500 stipend when they achieve certification. NBCTs support new and early career teachers by providing one-to-one mentoring, facilitating monthly New Educator Support Team sessions offered district-wide and serving as instructors for new teacher Core Learning courses. During 2005-2006, 505 M-DCPS National Board Certified Teachers provided over 45,000 hours of mentoring services. Additionally, NBCTs facilitate learning communities; conduct and lead Action Research cohorts; serve as grade level and department chairpersons, team leaders and lead teachers providing instructional modeling. During the 2006-2007 candidate registration period, an unprecedented total of 576 M-DCPS teachers, including 53 Zone teachers, registered for candidacy. A successful recruitment campaign targeting minority teacher candidates resulted in a diverse candidate cohort comprised of 81 percent minority candidates. There are currently 55,300 National Board Certified Teachers nationally. ### 07-FMN/091/jjs |
