Kyrene School District recently congratulated six teachers on achieving National Board Certification, the highest professional distinction in education through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. 

Additionally, one teacher has successfully renewed their certification, bringing Kyrene’s total number of National Board Certified Teachers to 25, a district release explained. 

Newly certified teachers are:

• Jenna Aguinaga, physical education teacher at Kyrene Monte Vista;
• Rochelle Cotela, grade 5 teacher at Kyrene de la Esperanza;
• Raquel Ellis, district teacher facilitator for PreK-3 in literacy;
• Suzanne Maki, district teacher facilitator for PreK-3 in math;
• Sarah Manchester, grade 5 teacher at Kyrene de la Esperanza;
• Jessica Van Oostrom, music teacher at Kyrene del Milenio.

The teacher renewing their certification was Michelle Ang, a resource teacher at Kyrene Traditional Academy.

Kyrene de la Esperanza’s Sarah Manchester said in the release that becoming a National Board Certified Teacher is ultimately about the students.

“I want to show up for them every day,” Manchester said. “Completing my national boards prompted me to reflect on my practice making me a more effective and aware educator for them.”

National Board Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment of a teacher's pedagogical skills and content knowledge, according to the release. The certification takes one to three years to complete.

District facilitator Raquel Ellis said in the release that she is “so happy” to have gone through the NBCT process. The certification process strengthened her ability to pay attention to detail in instruction planning and delivering lessons. 

“From the beginning, I appreciated the personalized support from my mentors at the K-12 Center, who empowered me to make this journey my own,” Ellis said. “I am incredibly humbled and honored to join our exceptional group of NBCTs here in Kyrene.”

While state licensing systems set the basic requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certified Teachers have demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices, the release stated. 

NBPTS certification identifies qualified teachers as leaders in their field, much like the certifications earned by experts in law and medicine. Completion of NBPTS's National Board Certification process signifies that the teachers have developed and demonstrated the skills required of a true education professional. 

Kyrene’s Director of Professional Growth and Development Dr. Jo Shurman said in the release that taking the time to become a National Board Certified teacher changes the way a teacher thinks about the decisions they make every day and the impact those decisions have on students.

“It changes the way you think and makes you a better teacher,” Shurman said. “This voluntary process is rigorous and requires a teacher to truly reflect on their own teaching. It is a testament to our teachers’ dedication and desire to be the best they can be.”

For more, visit www.kyrene.org/nbct]www.kyrene.org/nbct.